Salivary morbidity and quality of life following radioactive iodine for well-differentiated thyroid cancer.

ObjectiveDetermine the prevalence of sialadenitis in a group of patients treated with radioactive iodine (RAI) for well-differentiated thyroid cancer and assess whether RAI treatment is associated with a reduction in swallowing-related or global head and neck quality of life.Study DesignRetrospective self-administered questionnaire study.SettingAcademic, tertiary care, National Cancer Institute–designated cancer center.Subjects and MethodsSurviving patients seen for well-differentiated thyroid cancer were identified by review of the cancer center registry. Patients were mailed a baseline questionnaire, the M. D. Anderson Dysphagia Inventory (MDADI), the University of Washington Quality of Life Questionnaire (UW-QOL), and the Xerostomia-Related Quality of Life Scale (XeQOLS).ResultsThe study included 121 women and 24 men, with a mean age of 52 years. Radioactive iodine exposure was correlated with an increase in sialadenitis and was dose dependent (R2 = 0.335, P < .001). Sialadenitis was 2.47 times more li...