Radioiodine Therapy Does Not Change the Atherosclerotic Burden of the Carotid Arteries.

Radioiodine Therapy Does Not Change the Atherosclerotic Burden of the Carotid Arteries.

Thyroid. 2016 Apr 26;

Authors: la Cour JL, Andersen UB, Sørensen CH, Nygaard B, Jensen LT

Abstract
<b>Background and Aim:</b> Atherosclerosis evolves or accelerates when arteries are exposed to ionizing radiation, both early and late after exposure. Radioiodine therapy of benign thyroid disease exposes the carotid arteries to 4-50 Gy/GBq and may thereby increase the risk of atherosclerosis. Increased risk of cerebrovascular events is reported after radioiodine therapy. We aimed to study whether atherosclerosis develops early or late after radioiodine therapy of benign thyroid disease. <b>Method:</b> We examined patients treated for benign thyroid disorders (nontoxic goitre, adenoma and hyperthyroidism) with ultrasound for the main outcome, carotid intima media thickness (CIMT), and for plaque presence (plaque presence only in late damage). Signs of early damage from radioiodine were studied in 39 radioiodine-treated patients, who were examined before treatment and at 1, 3, 6 and12 months after treatment. Late changes were studied in a cross-sectional case-control design with radioiodine-treated patients as cases (n=193) and patients treated with surgery as controls (n=95). Data were analysed with repeated measurement for longitudinal data, and with multivariate regression for cross-sectional data. Results were adjusted for age, sex, cholesterol, smoking status, known atherosclerotic disease and BMI. <b>Results:</b> We found no changes in CIMT in the patients followed prospectively for one year after treatment with radioactive iodine for benign thyroid disease (p=0.58). In the study on late effects, there was no difference in CIMT (p=0.25) or presence of plagues (p=0.70) between those treated with radioactive iodine and those treated with surgery (9.8 and 5.6 years since treatment, respectively). Furthermore, the level of thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) did not influence these atherosclerosis markers. <b>Conclusion:</b> We were not able to detect early changes in CIMT in patients treated with radioactive iodine for benign thyroid disease. We found no signs of late effects of radioactive iodine on CIMT or plague presence after ten years of follow-up. The radiation to the carotid arteries by radioactive iodine therapy for benign thyroid disease may therefore have no or low effect on atherosclerotic burden of the carotid arteries in general.

PMID: 27117943 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

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