Everything you need to know about radioactive iodine 131 therapy for thyroid cancer

Everything you need to know about radioactive iodine 131 therapy for thyroid cancer

Radioactive iodine I-131 or iodine 131 therapy is an effective treatment for overactive thyroid, commonly known as the condition hyperthyroidism. The primary causative influence of hyperthyroidism is Graves' disease, in which the entire thyroid gland becomes overactive by enlarging and producing excessive amounts of thyroid hormones.

Principle of iodine-131 therapy

Nuclear medicine is a subdivision of medical imaging and uses tiny amounts of radioactive substances to diagnose or determine the intensity of countless diseases such as heart disease, gastrointestinal, neurological or endocrine disorders, cancer, and their treatment plan. Since nuclear medicine methods accurately determine the molecular activity occurring in the system, they have enough potential to carry out disease prognosis and monitor the patient's progress according to the therapeutic interventions.

I-131, or radioactive iodine, is an isotope of iodine that emits detectable radiation. When I-131 is swallowed in low doses, it passes through the bloodstream into the GI tract and concentrates in the thyroid cells, where it begins to destroy the overactive thyroid cells.

Who carries out the therapy?

In addition to a qualified thyroid surgeon and an endocrinologist, a radiologist trained in radiology or nuclear medicine and possibly a specialist in radiation protection take part in the treatment procedure. While the surgeon and endocrinologist carry out the actual procedure and take care of the patient's well-being, the radiation safety officers remotely monitor the entire course of treatment to ensure maximum safety when using radioactive materials such as iodine-131. This therapy does not require any sophisticated equipment or lengthy procedures as the patient simply needs to consume the prepared dose of Iodine-131 while maintaining full safety.

Preparation before therapy

Patients are advised not to consume any food or spirits after midnight on the day of therapy. Additionally, all anti-thyroid medications must be discontinued at least five days before therapy. Sometimes anti-thyroid injections or medications are discontinued up to ten days before therapy to ensure overall effectiveness and minimal side effects of therapy.

Details of the procedure

Hyperthyroidism treatment such as iodine-131 therapy is always carried out on an outpatient basis since the required dose is quite low and there is no need for sterile conditions or additional equipment. Iodine 131 is consumed in a small, single dose in either liquid or capsule form, which flows through the bloodstream to be quickly absorbed into the gastrointestinal tract. Treatment begins to produce effects approximately three months later, with significant benefits manifesting up to six months later. A single dose works well enough to cure hyperthyroidism and rarely varies when the second or third treatment is required.

Precautions

After radioactive iodine therapy, patients are recommended to take some precautionary measures, the most important of which is the complete avoidance of contact between other family members, with an emphasis on pregnant women and young children. Others are given below:

· It is recommended to use private toilets and the patient must flush twice after use.

· Eating utensils, clothing and other items must be disposed of in a separate location from others.

· It is important to sleep alone and avoid close contact with people for the first four days of treatment.

· Patients must avoid pregnancy within the next year after therapy, and nursing mothers should stop breastfeeding a few days before therapy to completely eliminate milk production.

· Pregnant women must not opt ​​for this therapy.

Patient Comfort – Everything you need to know about radioactive iodine-131 therapy for thyroid cancer

After taking radioactive iodine, patients experience pain sensations in the neck area, where the thyroid gland is located. The pain after therapy is similar to that of a sore throat and can be relieved with an over-the-counter remedy. A fraction of people who undergo this procedure experience no pain at all, and even if pain does occur, it goes away within a day or two. Overall, the procedure is problem-free and does not put any strain on the patient. You can recover and restore normal activities quickly after therapy.

Side effects

Iodine-131 therapy is highly effective in the sense that it does not cause any lasting or serious side effects to the patient. As long as precautions are carefully followed, this therapy is more likely to bring about a positive change by restoring normal thyroid activity. Since radioactive iodine works by destroying the thyroid glands, the body can be deprived of essential thyroid hormone after therapy. Therefore, patients have to resort to consuming thyroid pills to compensate for the reduction in thyroid hormone. However, this is not a permanent phenomenon and thyroid pills are also cheap.

Inspired by Yancey Chen