Anaplastic Thyroid Carcinoma Following Radioactive Iodine Therapy for Graves' Disease.

Sun Hwa Kim; Hee Young Kim; Kwang Yoon Jung; Dong Seop Choi; Sin Gon Kim

Radioactive iodine (RAI) therapy has been used as a treatment option for Graves' disease, and it has been widely accepted to be safe. On the other hand, some evidence suggests that RAI therapy is possibly associated with a small increased risk of thyroid cancer. Herein, we report a rare case of anaplastic thyroid carcinoma (ATC) associated with Graves' disease, following RAI treat- ment. A 42-year-old woman had been diagnosed with Graves' disease and although she was treated with an antithyroid drug, she remained in a hyperthyroid state, which led to two RAI treatments. More than 10 years later, the patient revisited our clinic due to hoarseness, dysphagia, and dyspnea, which had lasted for 2 months. Neck computed tomography suggested thyroid carcinoma and a lymph node biopsy showed metastatic papillary carcinoma. The patient underwent total thyroidectomy and was finally di- agnosed as having an ATC. It is not clear if the occurrence of ATC reported here was influenced by the RAI therapy or alterna- tively, it may only represent the delayed recognition of a rare change in the natural history of Graves' disease. Nevertheless, this report is worthwhile since it presents a very rare case of ATC that occurred eleven years after the RAI therapy for Graves' disease.

THYROID antagonists; THERAPEUTIC use of iodine isotopes; THERAPEUTICS

Endocrinology & Metabolism, 2013, Vol 28, Issue 1, p61

2093-596X

Academic Journal

10.3803/EnM.2013.28.1.61