Prognostic value of post-ablation ¹³¹ I scintigraphy in children with thyroid cancer.

Abstract

To evaluate the prognostic value of post-ablation whole-body scintigraphy (PAS) in children with thyroid cancer following ¹³¹ I therapy. A retrospective analysis of children with thyroid cancer who underwent remnant ablation was performed. PAS results were correlated with clinical and histopathologic characteristics of the primary tumor and compared with the follow-up data. One hundred and sixty-eight children were eligible for the analysis. The median age was 17 years, and the majority were female (81.5%). In multivariate analysis, N1b classification and ¹³¹ I ablative dose were associated with PAS positivity. After a median follow-up of 49 months, 89 (71.8%) of 124 children with normal PAS achieved complete remission. Fifteen of 44 (34.1%) children with positive PAS had complete remission. Kaplan-Meier analysis showed that positive PAS was negatively associated with cumulative complete remission rates (P < .001). PAS could provide prognostic information in children with thyroid cancer undergoing ¹³¹ I therapy.