Dynamic risk of recurrence in patients with thyroid microcarcinoma with and without iodine-131 ablation

Abstract

Introduction: Differentiated thyroid cancer has increased its incidence in the last 3 decades due to overdiagnosis of small tumors or microcarcinomas, new trends in its management make surgery and radioactive iodine therapy the treatment of choice for selected cases. The current management of thyroid microcarcinoma is based on the initial risk of recurrence and its follow-up over time with the dynamic risk of recurrence. Objective: The present work focused on analyzing the risk of dynamic recurrence in patients with thyroid microcarcinoma who received or did not ablative therapy with Iodine 131 after surgical treatment at the Teodoro Maldonado Carbo Hospital during the years 2016 - 2018.

Methods: An ambispective, non-experimental, descriptive, analytical, cross-sectional, and correlational study was carried out. Fifty-one patients treated at the endocrinology technical unit were analyzed.

Results: Of 51 cases of microcarcinoma, 60% were treated with ablative therapy, and the initial response was excellent in 53.3% of ablated patients and 66.7% of non-ablated cases. The initial recurrence risk was significantly lower in the group not treated by ablation (100%), while in the group treated with ablation, it was low, intermediate, and high in 16 (53.3%), 7 (23.3), and 7 (23.3) respectively.

Conclusions: There is a low risk of dynamic recurrence, regardless of the indication for ablative therapy with I131, recurrence risk stratification is a useful tool to select those patients who should receive radioactive iodine.