Exposure of the thyroid gland to any irradiation requires lifelong follow-up supervision
One of the questions most frequently asked by patients about to receive radioactive iodine as therapy for non-malignant conditions is whether it will result in bodily cancer. This question has been satisfactorily answered in the negative,1,2 so strong reassurance can be given.
The full article is accessible to AMA members and paid subscribers. Login to read more or purchase a subscription now.
Please note: institutional and Research4Life access to the MJA is now provided through Wiley Online Library.
- 1 Department of Medicine, University of Western Australia, Perth, WA.
- 2 Department of Nuclear Medicine, Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital, Perth, WA.
Correspondence: acohen@cyllene.uwa.edu.au
- 1. Gross MD, Shapiro B, Sisson JC. Radiation therapy of thyrotoxicosis. Rays 1999; 24: 334-347.
- 2. European Thyroid Association. 131I Therapy for thyrotoxicosis towards 2000. Eur J Nucl Med 1996; 23: BP13-BP15.
- 3. Somerville HM, Steinbeck KS, Stevens G, et al. Thyroid neoplasia following irradiation in adolescent and young adult survivors of childhood cancer. Med J Aust 2002; 176: 584-587. <eMJA full text>
- 4. The American Thyroid Association. Childhood Head and Neck Irradiation. Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, VA: American Thyroid Association Inc, 2002.
- 5. Schluter B, Bohuslavizki WB, Beyer W, et al. Impact of FDG-PET on patients with differentiated thyroid cancer who present with elevated thyroglobulin and negative 131I scan. J Nucl Med 2001; 42: 71-76.
Online responses are no longer available. Please refer to our instructions for authors page for more information.