title: Thyroglobulin flare response after radioiodine ablation in 2 patients with differentiated thyroid cancer.
abstract: Serum thyroglobulin (Tg) measurement facilitates monitoring differentiated thyroid cancer. We describe 2 patients with papillary thyroid cancer who developed dramatic transient serum Tg level elevations within 1 week of I radioiodine (RAI) ablation without cancer recurrence on follow-up. The first patient received recombinant human thyroid-stimulating hormone injections. The pre-injection Tg level was 3.8 μg/L and increased to 3060 μg/L 3 days post-RAI. In the second patient, the serum Tg level increased from 1.3 μg/L to 209.9 μg/L 7 days after RAI. This transient early serum Tg "flare response" could be misleading if interpreted as suggesting more extensive high-risk thyroid cancer.
authors.affiliation: From the Section of Nuclear Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.
authors.forename: James F
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Tsang
authors.forename: Daniel P
authors.initials: DP
authors.lastname: Levin
authors.forename: William D
authors.initials: WD
authors.lastname: Leslie
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002277:Carcinoma / Q000532:radiotherapy*; D002291:Carcinoma, Papillary; D018265:Carcinoma, Papillary, Follicular / Q000532:radiotherapy*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007457:Iodine Radioisotopes / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D013954:Thyroglobulin / Q000097:blood*; D000077273:Thyroid Cancer, Papillary; D013964:Thyroid Neoplasms / Q000532:radiotherapy*
chemical_list: D007457:Iodine Radioisotopes; D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals; D013954:Thyroglobulin