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Radioiodine Ablation: Current Status

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Practical Management of Thyroid Cancer

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Abstract

In the management of differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC) total thyroidectomy may be followed by the administration of Radioactive iodine (RAI) therapy. Post-surgical ablation of thyroid remnant with RAI is aimed to facilitate the early detection of recurrence based on serum thyroglobulin measurement and to obtain a post-therapy whole body scan (WBS), whose results may change the initial staging by identifying previously undiagnosed disease. In addition, RAI ablation may represent an adjuvant therapy by cleaning persistent microscopic foci of cancer, which can be present in the thyroid remnant especially in PTC, which is frequently multifocal, and by destroying small-volume microscopic lymph node metastases (present in up to 80% of PTC) [1, 2]. Remnant ablation after lobectomy is more difficult and a repeat administration may be required. Ablation of a large remnant may cause radiation thyroiditis with neck pain and swelling.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Medical, Surgical and Neurological Sciences, University of Siena, Siena, Italy

    Furio Pacini & Maria Grazia Castagna

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  1. Furio Pacini
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  2. Maria Grazia Castagna
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Correspondence to Furio Pacini .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Consultant (Hon), Northern Centre for Cancer Care, Freeman Hospital, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK

    Ujjal K. Mallick

  2. London, UK

    Clive Harmer

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Pacini, F., Castagna, M.G. (2018). Radioiodine Ablation: Current Status. In: Mallick, U.K., Harmer, C. (eds) Practical Management of Thyroid Cancer. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-91725-2_12

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-91725-2_12

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-91724-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-91725-2

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