Nucl Med Mol Imaging.  2014 Sep;48(3):203-211. 10.1007/s13139-014-0274-4.

Significance of Salivary Gland Radioiodine Retention on Post-ablation 131I Scintigraphy as a Predictor of Salivary Gland Dysfunction in Patients with Differentiated Thyroid Carcinoma

• Jo KS
• An YS
• Lee SJ
• Soh EY
• Lee J
• Chung YS
• Kim DJ
• Yoon SH
• Lee DH
• Yoon JK

• KMID: 2313195
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1007/s13139-014-0274-4

Abstract

PURPOSE
We investigated whether 131I whole-body scintigraphy could predict functional changes in salivary glands after radioiodine therapy.
METHODS
We evaluated 90 patients who received initial high-dose (> or =3.7 GBq) radioiodine therapy after total thyroidectomy. All patients underwent diagnostic (DWS) and post-ablation (TWS) 131I whole-body scintigraphy. Visual assessment of salivary radioiodine retention on DWS and TWS was used to divide the patients into two types of groups: a DWS+ or DWS- group and a TWS+ or TWS- group. Salivary gland scintigraphy was also performed before DWS and at the first follow-up visit. Peak uptake and %washout were calculated in ROIs of each gland. Functional changes (Deltauptake or Deltawashout) of salivary glands after radioiodine therapy were compared between the two groups.
RESULTS
Both peak uptake and the %washout of the parotid glands were significantly lower after radioiodine therapy (all p values <0.001), whereas only the %washout were significantly reduced in the submandibular glands (all p values <0.05). For the parotid glands, the TWS+ group showed larger Deltauptake and Deltawashout after radioiodine therapy than did the TWS- group (all p values <0.01). In contrast, the Deltauptake and Deltawashout of the submandibular glands did not significantly differ between the TWS+ and TWS- groups (all p values >0.05). Likewise, no differences in Deltauptake or Deltawashout were apparent between the DWS+ and DWS- groups in either the parotid or submandibular glands (all p values >0.05).
CONCLUSION
Salivary gland radioiodine retention on post-ablation 131I scintigraphy is a good predictor of functional impairment of the parotid glands after high-dose radioiodine therapy.

Keyword

Radioiodine therapy; Salivary gland dysfunction; Differentiated thyroid cancer; 131I scintigraphy; Salivary gland scintigraphy

MeSH Terms

Follow-Up Studies
Humans
Parotid Gland
Radionuclide Imaging*
Salivary Glands*
Submandibular Gland
Thyroid Neoplasms*
Thyroidectomy