AimAlthough recombinant human thyrotropin (rhTSH) is widely used in treating differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC), almost all clinical investigation has been in adults. The aim of our retrospective study was to evaluate outcomes of adjuvant, rhTSH-aided radioiodine treatment in children/adolescents with DTC and to compare them to131I therapy duringl-thyroxin withdrawal (THW).MethodsPatients with the diagnosis of DTC who were ≤18 years of age and had no signs of persistent disease at the time of131I treatment were included; 48 patients were treated after rhTSH (rhTSH group) and 82 after THW group. The median time of follow-up after therapy was 67 months and was longer in the THW group (99 vs 43 months,P<0.05).ResultsOn the day of131I administration, all but one patient had TSH levels above 25 μIU/ml. Peak TSH concentration was significantly higher in the rhTSH group (152 μIU/ml vs 91 μIU/ml). Similarly, the thyroglobulin concentration was higher in the rhTSH group (9.7 ng/ml vs 1.8 ng/ml). No side effects requiring medical intervention were recorded after rhTSH administration. The evaluation of disease outcomes during TSH stimulation (6–18 months after131I treatment) revealed equal rates of thyroid ablation (71%) in both groups. During subsequent follow-up, five patients showed recurrence (P>0.05).ConclusionsIn children/adolescents, rhTSH-aided adjuvant radioiodine treatment is associated with rates of remnant ablation and short-term recurrence similar to THW. As this preparation has several advantages over THW, rhTSH may become the preferred method of TSH stimulation once studies of long-term outcomes show non-inferiority to THW in this age group.
Radioiodine Treatment with 30 mCi after Recombinant Human Thyrotropin Stimulation in Thyroid Cancer: Effectiveness for Postsurgical Remnants Ablation and Possible Role of Iodine Content inl-Thyroxine in the Outcome of Ablation
