Three months after radioactive iodine treatment, 94 out of 100 patients with intermediate-risk thyroid cancer had no detectable thyroid tissue or cancer markers, confirmed by blood tests and ultrasound, indicating the treatment worked as intended.
Evidence from Studies
No evidence studies found yet.
What Would Prove This
Per GRADE and EBM methodology, here is what ideal scientific evidence would look like to definitively prove or disprove this claim, ordered from strongest to weakest.
Whether the composite endpoint of Tg <1 ng/mL, negative anti-Tg, and normal ultrasound is a valid predictor of long-term recurrence across multiple studies in intermediate-risk papillary thyroid carcinoma.
A systematic review and meta-analysis of prospective studies using the composite endpoint (Tg <1 ng/mL, negative anti-Tg, normal ultrasound) to define ablation success, with correlation to structural recurrence over 5–10 years, and assessment of sensitivity and specificity.
Whether achieving the composite endpoint (Tg <1 ng/mL, negative anti-Tg, normal ultrasound) after 30 mCi I-131 predicts lower recurrence compared to other definitions.
A multicenter RCT of 500 intermediate-risk patients randomized to 30 mCi I-131, with ablation success defined by composite endpoint vs. Tg alone vs. imaging alone, and recurrence as primary endpoint over 7 years, with blinded adjudication.
The association between achieving the composite ablation endpoint and long-term recurrence in patients treated with 30 mCi I-131.
A prospective cohort of 1000 intermediate-risk patients treated with 30 mCi I-131, with ablation success defined by composite endpoint (Tg <1 ng/mL, negative anti-Tg, normal ultrasound) at 12 months, and recurrence monitored via imaging and Tg over 10 years.
Whether patients who later developed recurrence were less likely to have met the composite ablation endpoint at 12 months.
A case-control study comparing 50 patients with recurrence to 100 matched controls, analyzing whether they met the composite endpoint (Tg <1 ng/mL, negative anti-Tg, normal ultrasound) at 12 months post-ablation.
The prevalence of the composite ablation endpoint at a single time point after 30 mCi I-131 treatment.
A cross-sectional survey of 500 patients treated with 30 mCi I-131, measuring Tg, anti-Tg, and ultrasound status at 12 months to determine the proportion meeting the composite endpoint.