UNASSIGNED: This two-center study aimed to explore the main prognostic factors affecting the final disease status in children and adolescents with differentiated thyroid cancer (caDTC) following total thyroidectomy and radioiodine therapy (RAIT).
UNASSIGNED: All caDTC patients from two centers in the period from 2004-2022 were retrospectively included. At the last follow-up, the patients\' disease status was assessed and classified as an incomplete response (IR) or as an excellent or indeterminate response (EIDR). Then, the difference in preablation stimulated thyroglobulin (ps-Tg) levels between the two groups was compared, and the threshold for predicting IR was determined using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis. Moreover, univariate and multivariate analyses were conducted to identify the factors influencing the patients\' ultimate disease outcomes.
UNASSIGNED: A total of 143 patients (98 females, 45 males; median age 16 years) were recruited. After a median follow-up of 42.9 months, 80 patients (55.9%) exhibited an EIDR, whereas 63 patients (44.1%) exhibited an IR. Patients with an IR had significantly greater ps-Tg levels than did those with an EIDR (median ps-Tg 79.2 ng/mL vs. 9.3 ng/mL, p<0.001). The ROC curve showed that ps-Tg ≥20 ng/mL was the most accurate for predicting IR at the last follow-up. According to multivariate analysis, only ps-Tg, T stage and the therapeutic response to initial RAIT were significantly associated with IR.
UNASSIGNED: In caDTC patients, the ps-Tg level, T stage, and response to initial RAIT are critical final outcome indicators.

Aim: This research aimed to construct a clinical model for forecasting the likelihood of lung metastases in differentiated thyroid carcinoma (DTC) with intermediate- to high-risk. Methods: In this study, 375 DTC patients at intermediate to high risk were included. They were randomly divided into a training set (70%) and a validation set (30%). A nomogram was created using the training group and then validated in the validation set using calibration, decision curve analysis (DCA) and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve. Results: The calibration curves demonstrated excellent consistency between the predicted and the actual probability. ROC analysis showed that the area under the curve in the training cohort was 0.865 and 0.845 in the validation cohort. Also, the DCA curve indicated that this nomogram had good clinical utility. Conclusion: A user-friendly nomogram was constructed to predict the lung metastases probability with a high net benefit.
[Box: see text].

BACKGROUND: The 2015 American Thyroid Association (ATA) guidelines proposed the use of the ATA Risk Stratification System and American Joint Committee on Cancer Tumor-Node-Metastasis (AJCC/TNM) Staging System for postoperative radioiodine decision-making. However, the management of patients with intermediate-risk differentiated thyroid carcinoma (DTC) is not well defined. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the therapeutic efficacy of radioactive iodine therapy (RAIT) among various subgroups of patients with intermediate-risk DTC after surgery.
METHODS: This was a retrospective study based on the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database (2010-2015). The DTC patients with intermediate risk of recurrence were divided into two groups (treated or not treated with radioactive iodine (RAI)). As the treatment was not randomly assigned, stabilized inverse probability treatment weighting (sIPTW) was used to reduce selection bias. We used the Kaplan-Meier method and log-rank test to analyze overall survival (OS) and cancer-specific survival (CSS).
RESULTS: Kaplan-Meier analysis after sIPTW found a significant difference in OS and CSS between no RAIT and RAIT (log-rank test, P < 0.0001; P = 0.0019, respectively). The Kaplan-Meier curves of CSS in age cutoff of 55 years showed a significant association between no RAIT and RAIT (log-rank test, P = 0.0045). Univariate and multivariate Cox regression showed RAIT was associated with a reduced risk of mortality compared with no RAIT (hazard ratio [HR] 0.59, 95% confidence interval [95% CI 0.44-0.80]). Age (≥ 55) years showed a worse CSS regardless of whether or not a patient was treated or not treated with RAI ([HR] 8.91, 95% confidence interval [95% CI 6.19-12.84]).
CONCLUSIONS: RAIT improves OS and CSS in patients with intermediate-risk DTC after surgery. 55 years is a more appropriate prognostic age cutoff for the relevant classification systems and is a crucial consideration in RAI decision-making. Therefore, we need individualized treatment plans.

Thyroid cancer is one of the most common tumors of the endocrine system because of its rapid and steady increase in incidence and prevalence. In recent years, a growing number of studies have identified a key role for the gut, thyroid tissue and oral microbiota in the regulation of metabolism and the immune system. A growing body of evidence has conclusively demonstrated that the microbiota influences tumor formation, prevention, diagnosis, and treatment. We provide extensive information in which oral, gut, and thyroid microbiota have an effect on thyroid cancer development in this review. In addition, we thoroughly discuss the various microbiota species, their potential functions, and the underlying mechanisms for thyroid cancer. The microbiome offers a unique opportunity to improve the effectiveness of immunotherapy and radioiodine therapy thyroid cancer by maintaining the right type of microbiota, and holds great promise for improving clinical outcomes and quality of life for thyroid cancer patients.

UNASSIGNED: The aim was to investigate the effect of radioactive iodine (RAI) treatment for differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC) on male gonadal function.
UNASSIGNED: PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, OVID, Scopus, and Wanfang databases were searched up to June 10, 2022, to identify published studies related to RAI and male gonadal function. ReviewManager version 5.4.1 software was used to calculate mean differences (MDs) with 95% CIs.
UNASSIGNED: Initially, 1958 articles were retrieved from the databases, and 6 articles were included in the quantitative analysis. The meta-analysis results showed that follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) increased when the follow-up duration was ≥12 months after RAI, but the difference was not statistically significant (MD = -2.64, 95% CI = (-5.61, 0.33), P = 0.08). But the results of the subgroup analysis showed that when the follow-up time was ≤6 months, FSH levels were significantly higher after RAI (MD = -7.65, 95% CI = (-13.95, -1.34), P = 0.02). The level of inhibin B was significantly lower at ≥12 months and ≤6 months after RAI (MD = 66.38, 95% CI = (8.39, 124.37), P = 0.02) and (MD = 116.27, 95% CI = (43.56, 188.98), P = 0.002). Additionally, luteinizing hormone (LH) and testosterone have similar results - that is, LH and testosterone levels were higher after RAI, but the difference was not statistically significant (MD = -0.87, 95% CI = (-2.04, 0.30), P = 0.15) and (MD = -1.69, 95% CI (-7.29, 3.90), P = 0.55).
UNASSIGNED: Male gonadal function may be temporarily impaired within 6 months after RAI but may return to normal levels afterward.

OBJECTIVE: The BRAFV600E mutation is the universal genetic mutation in papillary thyroid microcarcinoma (PTMC). The present study is to estimate the role of the BRAFV600E mutation in the clinical outcome of PTMC with intermediate to high recurrence risk after radioactive iodine (RAI) therapy, which is considered to be an indolent tumor.
METHODS: We conducted a single-center retrospective study. Between May 2016 and March 2019, PTMC patients with known BRAFV600E status who received RAI therapy were reviewed at the Second Hospital of Shandong University. Treatment and follow-up were defined according to criteria used in the 2015 ATA guidelines. The association between the BRAFV600E mutation and clinicopathological characteristics, response to RAI therapy, and recurrence after a period of follow-up were analyzed. Propensity score matching (PSM) and logistic regression were used to control confounding variables.
RESULTS: Of the 322 patients with intermediate to high recurrence risk in PTMC, the mean age of the patients were 43.7 ± 12.2 years, and 72.1% were women. BRAFV600E mutation was found in 64.9% (209/322). After PSM, 112 pairs of patients were matched, and except for multifocality (P = 0.001), extrathyroidal invasion (P = 0.003) and tumor size (P = 0.03), there was no significant difference in all baseline characteristics between the two groups. An excellent response (ER) to RAI therapy was observed in 273 patients (84.7%). At the end of the study, 17(5.2%) and 6(1.8%) patients showed structural incomplete response (SIR) and biochemical incomplete response (BIR) status. The proportion of patients who achieved ER status in the BRAFV600E mutation positive and negative groups was 86.6% and 81.4%, respectively. Kaplan-Meier analyses showed that the BRAFV600E mutation was not related to lower ER reached time. The median follow-up was 51 months.
CONCLUSIONS: We found the BRAFV600E mutation was associated with multifocality, extrathyroidal invasion, and tumor size in papillary thyroid microcarcinoma. However, the BRAFV600E mutation had no significant association with clinical outcomes in patients with intermediate to high recurrence risk after RAI therapy. Furthermore, the extra-thyroid uptake results and distant metastasis had been proven to be independent factor predicting the clinical response.
BACKGROUND: ChiCTR2200062911.

We aimed to explore the predictive value of stimulated thyroglobulin (sTg) and pre-ablation antithyroglobulin (pa-TgAb) products for the effect of radioiodine therapy (RAIT) on TgAb-positive differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC) patients.
In this study, we enrolled 265 patients with TgAb-positive DTC who underwent RAIT after total thyroidectomy (TT). Based on the last follow-up result, the patients were divided into two groups: the excellent response (ER) group and the non-excellent response (NER) group. We analyzed the factors related to the effect of RAIT.
The ER group consisted of 197 patients. The NER group consisted of 68 patients. For the univariate analysis, we found that the maximal tumor diameter, whether with extrathyroidal extension (ETE), bilateral or unilateral primary lesion, multifocality, preoperative TgAb (preop-TgAb), pa-TgAb, sTg × pa-TgAb, initial RAIT dose, N stage, and surgical extent (modified radical neck dissection or not), showed significant differences between the ER group and NER group (all p-values <0.05). The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves showed that the cutoff value was 724.25 IU/ml, 424.00 IU/ml, and 59.73 for preop-TgAb, pa-TgAb, and sTg × pa-TgAb, respectively. The multivariate logistic regression analysis results indicated that pa-TgAb, sTg × pa-TgAb, initial RAIT dose, and N stage were independent risk factors for NER (all p-values <0.05). For the Kaplan-Meier analysis of disease-free survival (DFS), the median DFS of the patients with sTg × pa-TgAb < 59.73 and initial RAIT dose ≤ 100 mCi was significantly longer than that of the patients with sTg × pa-TgAb ≥ 59.73 (50.27 months vs. 48.59 months, p = 0.041) and initial RAIT dose >100 mCi (50.50 months vs. 38.00 months, p = 0.030).
We found the sTg and pa-TgAb conducts is a good predictor of the efficacy of RAIT in TgAb-positive DTC patients. It can play a very positive and important role in optimizing treatment, improving prognosis, and reducing the burden of patients.

The clinical features and prognosis of children and adolescents with differentiated thyroid carcinoma (caDTC) are different from that of adults. Postoperative radioiodine therapy (RIT) was recommended for some intermediate and high risk caDTC patients. The objective of this study was to evaluate the long-term prognosis of pediatric caDTC patients with different responses to initial RIT and to explore the related influencing factors.
All subjects were assigned to no clinical evidence of disease (NED) group, biochemical persistent disease (BPD) group, or structural/functional persistent disease (S/FPD) group based on the therapeutic response to initial RIT. Then, disease status was evaluated in all three groups at the last follow-up using ATA guidelines. Meanwhile, disease-free survival (DFS) for NED group and the progression-free survival (PFS) for the BPD and S/FPD groups were also assessed.
117 subjects were divided into NED group (n=29), BPD group (n=48) and S/FPD group (n=34) after initial RIT. At the last follow-up, excellent response (ER), indeterminate response (IDR), biochemically incomplete response (BIR) and structurally incomplete response (SIR) rates were 93.10%, 6.90%, 0% and 0% in NED group; 29.17%, 25.00%, 43.75% and 2.08% in BPD group; and 11.77%, 2.94%, 0%, and 85.29% in S/FPD group. The 5-year DFS rate in NED group was 95.5%. The 5-year PFS rates in BPD and S/FPD groups were 79.2% and 48.6%, respectively. For children with structural or functional lesions, longer PFS were found in male children with 131I-avid lesions, and post-operative stimulated serum thyroglobulin (sti-Tg) < 149.80 ng/ml.
The response to initial RIT could be helpful for defining subsequent treatment and follow-up strategies for caDTC patients. Post-operative sti-Tg and 131I-avidity of lesions are correlated with PFS.

Endothelial dysfunction, which was associated with chronic hypothyroidism, was an early event in atherosclerosis. Whether short-term hypothyroidism following thyroxine withdrawal during radioiodine (RAI) therapy was associated with endothelial dysfunction in patients with differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC) was unclear. Aim of the study was to assess whether short-term hypothyroidism could impair endothelial function and the accompanied metabolic changes in the whole process of RAI therapy.
We recruited fifty-one patients who underwent total thyroidectomy surgery and would accept RAI therapy for DTC. We analyzed thyroid function, endothelial function and serum lipids levels of the patients at three time points: the day before thyroxine withdrawal(P1), the day before 131I administration(P2) and 4-6 weeks after RAI therapy(P3). A high-resolution ultrasound named flow-mediated dilation (FMD) was used to measure endothelial function of the patients.
We analyzed the changes of FMD, thyroid function and lipids at three time points. FMD(P2) decreased significantly compared to FMD(P1) (P1vsP2, 8.05 ± 1.55vs 7.26 ± 1.50, p<0.001). There was no significant difference between FMD(P3) and FMD(P1) after restoring TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone) suppression therapy (P1 vs P3, 8.05 ± 1.55 vs 7.79 ± 1.38, p=0.146). Among all parameters, the change of low-density lipoprotein (ΔLDL) was the only factor correlated negatively with the change of FMD (ΔFMD) throughout the RAI therapy process (P1-2, r=-0.326, p=0.020; P2-3, r=-0.306, p=0.029).
Endothelial function was transiently impaired in DTC patients at short-term hypothyroidism state during the RAI therapy, and immediately returned to the initial state after restoring TSH suppression therapy.

To determine whether thyroid-stimulating hormone level ≥ 30 mU/L is necessary for radioiodine (131I) remnant ablation (RRA) in patients with differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC), as well as its influencing factors and predictors.
A total of 487 DTC patients were retrospectively enrolled in this study. They were divided into two groups (TSH < 30 and ≥ 30 mU/L) and further divided into eight subgroups (0-<30, 30-<40, 40-<50, 50-<60, 60-<70, 70-<80, 80-<90, and 90-<100 mU/L). The simultaneous serum lipid level, successful rate of RRA and its influencing factors in different groups were analyzed. The receiver operating characteristic curves derived from pre-ablative thyroglobulin (pre-Tg) and pre-Tg/TSH ratio were compared for RRA success prediction performance.
There was no statistical difference in success rates of RRA between the two groups (P = 0.247) and eight subgroups (P = 0.685). Levels of total cholesterol (P < 0.001), triglyceride (P = 0.006), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (P = 0.024), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (P = 0.001), apolipoprotein B (P < 0.001), and apolipoprotein E (P = 0.002) were significantly higher while apoA/apoB ratio (P = 0.024) was significantly lower at TSH ≥ 30 mU/L group. Pre-Tg level, gender, and N stage were influencing factors for RRA. The area under the curve of pre-Tg level and pre-Tg/TSH ratio was 0.7611 (P < 0.0001) and 0.7340 (P < 0.0001) for all enrolled patients and 0.7310 (P = 0.0145) and 0.6524 (P = 0.1068) for TSH < 30 mU/L, respectively.
TSH ≥ 30 mU/L may not be necessary for the success of RRA. Patients with higher serum TSH levels prior to RRA will suffer from severer hyperlipidemia. Pre-Tg level could be used as a predictor for the success of RRA, especially when TSH < 30 mU/L.