Identifying risk factors associated with refractoriness to radioiodine therapy in differentiated thyroid cancer.

Objective: To identify factors potentially associated with radioiodine-refractory disease among patients treated for differentiated thyroid carcinoma at a referral center in Northeastern Brazil.

Methods: A total of 554 medical records of patients with differentiated thyroid carcinoma treated between January 2010 and August 2024 were evaluated. Radioiodine-refractory disease tumors were detected in 44 (7.9%) patients. Clinical, laboratory, and radiological data were compared between the radioiodine-refractory disease and non-radioiodine-refractory disease groups to determine factors associated with poor differentiated thyroid carcinoma outcomes.

Results: Factors most strongly associated with progression to radioiodine-refractory disease included older age, increased number of surgeries performed, aggressive histological subtypes, larger tumor size, vascular invasion, extrathyroidal extension, compromised margins, lymph node metastasis, distant metastasis at diagnosis and during follow-up, higher malignant tumor classification staging, high risk of recurrence, high thyroglobulin levels prior to radioiodine therapy, higher doses and greater number of radioiodine therapy doses, and higher frequency of incomplete responses within the first year post-treatment.

Conclusion: Identifying possible factors associated with radioiodine-refractory disease development may allow early diagnosis and a more effective treatment.