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131I treatment for thyroid cancer and risk of developing primary hyperparathyroidism: a cohort study

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European Journal of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Purpose

To evaluate the association between 131I therapy for thyroid cancer and risk of developing primary hyperparathyroidism.

Methods

This was a nationwide population-based cohort study of patients with thyroid cancer diagnosed during the period 1997–2008. The data were obtained from the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research dataset. The cumulative 131I dose in each patient was calculated. Hazard ratios (HRs) were calculated using a proportional hazards model to estimate the effect of 131I therapy on the risk of developing primary hyperparathyroidism in the cohort.

Results

A total of 8,946 patients with thyroid cancer were eligible for the final analysis. Among these patients, 8 developed primary hyperparathyroidism during the follow-up period that represented 38,248 person-years giving an incidence rate of 20.9 per 105 person-years. 131I was used in the treatment of 6,153 patients (68.8 %) with a median cumulative dose of 3.7 GBq. The adjusted HRs were 0.21 (95% CI 0.02–1.86) and 0.46 (95% CI 0.10–2.10) for those receiving a cumulative 131I dose of 0.1–3.6 GBq and ≥3.7 GBq, respectively, compared to no therapy. The risk of developing primary hyperparathyroidism did not increase with increasing 131I dose (test for trend p = 0.51). No interaction was found between 131I dose and age (p = 0.94) or 131I dose and sex (p = 0.99).

Conclusion

131I treatment for thyroid cancer did not increase risk of primary hyperparathyroidism during a 10-year follow-up in this study population. Further research with a longer follow-up period is needed to assess late adverse effects beyond 10 years.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Nuclear Medicine, Taipei Medical University – Shuang Ho Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan

    Chien-Mu Lin

  2. Department of Radiology, College of Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan

    Chien-Mu Lin

  3. Faculty of Epidemiology and Population Health, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK

    Pat Doyle

  4. Institute of Occupational Medicine and Industrial Hygiene, National Taiwan University College of Public Health, 17 Syujhou Road, Taipei, 10055, Taiwan

    Yu-Tse Tsan, Jung-Der Wang & Pau-Chung Chen

  5. Department of Emergency Medicine, Taichung Veterans General Hospital, Taichung, Taiwan

    Yu-Tse Tsan

  6. School of Medicine, Chung Shan Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan

    Yu-Tse Tsan

  7. Department of Occupational Medicine, Ton Yen General Hospital, Hsinchu County, Taiwan

    Chang-Hsing Lee

  8. Department of Public Health, National Cheng Kung University College of Medicine, Tainan, Taiwan

    Jung-Der Wang

  9. Department of Public Health, National Taiwan University College of Public Health, Taipei, Taiwan

    Pau-Chung Chen

  10. Department of Environmental and Occupational Medicine, National Taiwan University College of Medicine and Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan

    Pau-Chung Chen

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  1. Chien-Mu Lin
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  2. Pat Doyle
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  3. Yu-Tse Tsan
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  4. Chang-Hsing Lee
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Health Data Analysis in Taiwan (hDATa) Research Group

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Pau-Chung Chen.

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Lin, CM., Doyle, P., Tsan, YT. et al. 131I treatment for thyroid cancer and risk of developing primary hyperparathyroidism: a cohort study. Eur J Nucl Med Mol Imaging 41, 253–259 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00259-013-2541-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00259-013-2541-5

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