title: Significance of Salivary Gland Radioiodine Retention on Post-ablation (131)I Scintigraphy as a Predictor of Salivary Gland Dysfunction in Patients with Differentiated Thyroid Carcinoma.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  We investigated whether (131)I whole-body scintigraphy could predict functional changes in salivary glands after radioiodine therapy.
  
  
  METHODS
  We evaluated 90 patients who received initial high-dose (≥3.7 GBq) radioiodine therapy after total thyroidectomy. All patients underwent diagnostic (DWS) and post-ablation (TWS) (131)I 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 (Δuptake or Δwashout) 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 Δuptake and Δwashout after radioiodine therapy than did the TWS- group (all p values <0.01). In contrast, the Δuptake and Δwashout of the submandibular glands did not significantly differ between the TWS+ and TWS- groups (all p values >0.05). Likewise, no differences in Δuptake or Δwashout were apparent between the DWS+ and DWS- groups in either the parotid or submandibular glands (all p values >0.05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Salivary gland radioiodine retention on post-ablation (131)I scintigraphy is a good predictor of functional impairment of the parotid glands after high-dose radioiodine therapy.
authors.affiliation: Department of Nuclear Medicine & Molecular Imaging, Ajou University School of Medicine, 164, World Cup-ro, Yeongtong-gu, Suwon, Kyunggi-do Republic of Korea 443-380.
authors.forename: Kyung Sook
authors.initials: KS
authors.lastname: Jo
authors.affiliation: Department of Nuclear Medicine & Molecular Imaging, Ajou University School of Medicine, 164, World Cup-ro, Yeongtong-gu, Suwon, Kyunggi-do Republic of Korea 443-380.
authors.forename: Young-Sil
authors.initials: YS
authors.lastname: An
authors.affiliation: Department of Nuclear Medicine & Molecular Imaging, Ajou University School of Medicine, 164, World Cup-ro, Yeongtong-gu, Suwon, Kyunggi-do Republic of Korea 443-380.
authors.forename: Su Jin
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Ajou University School of Medicine, 164, World Cup-ro, Yeongtong-gu, Suwon, Kyunggi-do Republic of Korea 443-380.
authors.forename: Euy-Young
authors.initials: EY
authors.lastname: Soh
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Ajou University School of Medicine, 164, World Cup-ro, Yeongtong-gu, Suwon, Kyunggi-do Republic of Korea 443-380.
authors.forename: Jeonghun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Ajou University School of Medicine, 164, World Cup-ro, Yeongtong-gu, Suwon, Kyunggi-do Republic of Korea 443-380.
authors.forename: Yoon-Sok
authors.initials: YS
authors.lastname: Chung
authors.affiliation: Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Ajou University School of Medicine, 164, World Cup-ro, Yeongtong-gu, Suwon, Kyunggi-do Republic of Korea 443-380.
authors.forename: Dae Jung
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Nuclear Medicine & Molecular Imaging, Ajou University School of Medicine, 164, World Cup-ro, Yeongtong-gu, Suwon, Kyunggi-do Republic of Korea 443-380.
authors.forename: Seok-Ho
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Yoon
authors.affiliation: Department of Nuclear Medicine & Molecular Imaging, Ajou University School of Medicine, 164, World Cup-ro, Yeongtong-gu, Suwon, Kyunggi-do Republic of Korea 443-380.
authors.forename: Dong Hyun
authors.initials: DH
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Department of Nuclear Medicine & Molecular Imaging, Ajou University School of Medicine, 164, World Cup-ro, Yeongtong-gu, Suwon, Kyunggi-do Republic of Korea 443-380.
authors.forename: Joon-Kee
authors.initials: JK
authors.lastname: Yoon
keywords: 131I scintigraphy; Differentiated thyroid cancer; Radioiodine therapy; Salivary gland dysfunction; Salivary gland scintigraphy