Is recombinant human TSH as effective as thyroid hormone withdrawal in the detection and treatment of metastatic differentiated thyroid cancer?

Abstract

Evaluation of: Van Nostr D, Khorjekav GR, O’Neil J et al. Recombinant human thyroid-stimulating hormone versus thyroid hormone withdrawal in the identification of metastasis in differentiated thyroid cancer with ¹³¹I planar whole body imaging and ¹²⁴I PET. J. Nucl. Med 53(3), 359–362 (2012).

In a recent article, Van Nostrand et al. compared two methods of patient preparation, that is, recombinant human thyroid-stimulating hormone and thyroid hormone withdrawal, for the detection of metastasis in patients previously treated for differentiated thyroid cancer, using both ¹³¹I whole-body imaging and ¹²⁴I positron emission tomography. The major finding of this prospective study was that the number of patients and the number of foci for patient positive at ¹³¹I whole-body imaging and ¹²⁴I PET performed after thyroid hormone withdrawal was significantly higher when compared with that related to patients prepared with recombinant human thyroid-stimulating hormone.

Keywords::

• differentiated thyroid cancer
• metastasis detection
• recombinant human TSH
• thyroid hormone withdrawal
• ¹³¹I WB
• ¹²⁴I PET

Financial & competing interests disclosure

The authors have no relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript. This includes employment, consultancies, honoraria, stock ownership or options, expert testimony, grants or patents received or pending, or royalties.

No writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript.