Patients With Differentiated Thyroid Cancer Who Underwent Radioiodine Thyroid Remnant Ablation With Low-Activity 131I After Either Recombinant Human TSH or Thyroid Hormone Therapy Withdrawal Showed the Same Outcome After a 10-Year Follow-up

Background: No long-term follow-up data are available for differentiated thyroid carcinoma (DTC) patients prepared with either exogenous or endogenous TSH and treated with low-activity (1.1 GBq [30 mCi]) radioiodine (131I). Aim: The aim of this study was to evaluate the 10-year follow-up of DTC patients who underwent remnant ablation with 1.1 GBq 131I after l-T4 withdrawal, recombinant human TSH (rhTSH) administration, or both. Patients: A total of 159 DTC patients treated with total thyroidectomy and 1.1 GBq (30 mCi) of 131I for remnant ablation and stimulated with rhTSH and/or endogenous TSH were separated into ablated (n = 115) and not ablated (n = 44) patients and prospectively followed-up for at least 10 years. In addition, we evaluated several features that could correlate with the final status of patients. Results: During the follow-up, 4 of 115 (3.5%) ablated patients showed a recurrence and 1 was successfully cured. Among not ablated patients, 16 of 44 (36.4%) had a persistent disease. At the end...