“What is the radioactive iodine therapy and under what cases is it normally recommended?”
While studying for my bio class, my textbook mentioned radioactive iodine therapy. They didn't go into too much detail. What is radioactive iodine therapy, and under what circumstances should it be recommended?
2 Answers
Radioactive 131-iodine is used to treat hyperthyroidism due to Graves disease. It is also used to treat thyroid cancer. The dose for treating Graves disease is lower than the dose for thyroid cancer. Radioactive iodine can also be chemically conjugated to antibodies used to treat lymphoma. It can be conjugated to MIBG to treat neuroendocrine tumors. Another isotope, 123-iodine, is used for diagnostic imaging in all of the above-mentioned conditions.
Radioactive iodine (I-131) is a beta emitter and when taken up preferentially by the thyroid gland or cancer kills the cells. It is a useful treatment if the cancer is well differentiated. Dose depends on specifics of tumor histology, presence of normal thyroid, or distal metastatic disease.
