Background
Radioactive‐iodine remnant ablation is an integral part of the papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) treatment. Although a minimum dose is usually recommended, there is controversy as to whether the low‐dose (1100 MBq) radioactive‐iodine remnant ablation is adequate for selected patients.
Methods
A retrospective cohort study was conducted on 691 patients. Patients with no remnant thyroid on the follow‐up whole body scan and low stimulated thyroglobulin (sTg) level (<2.0 ng/mL) were deemed as successful treatment cases.
Results
Initial low‐dose radioactive‐iodine remnant ablation was successful in 431 patients (62.3%). Multivariate analysis demonstrated a negative correlation between successful radioactive‐iodine remnant ablation and coexisting Hashimoto thyroiditis based on histopathology diagnosis (odds ratio [OR] = 3.23; p < .001) as well as elevated preablation sTg (OR = 1.24; p < .001).
Conclusion
Our data suggest that coexisting Hashimoto thyroiditis and elevated sTg are negative predictive factors for successful low‐dose radioactive‐iodine remnant ablation treatment. An appropriate risk‐adjusted approach may improve the efficacy of radioactive‐iodine remnant ablation treatment. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Head Neck 38: E730–E735, 2016