Impact of radioiodine therapy on recurrence and survival outcomes in intermediate‐risk papillary thyroid carcinoma —A systematic review and meta‐analysis

Abstract

AbstractObjectiveThe utility of radioiodine (RAI) therapy in intermediate‐risk papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) remains a topic of ongoing discussion. This systematic review and meta‐analysis aimed to consolidate existing evidence on the impact of postoperative RAI therapy on recurrence and survival outcomes in intermediate‐risk PTC.MethodsA literature search was performed using relevant keywords in PubMed, Scopus, and EMBASE. Articles from January 2008 to March 2023 were included. Odds ratios (ORs) and hazard ratios (HRs) were extracted from the individual articles, and pooled estimates were generated using meta‐analysis.ResultsEleven articles comprising 56,266 intermediate‐risk PTC patients were included. 41,530 (73.8%) patients underwent postoperative RAI therapy, while 14,736 (26.2%) patients were kept on no‐RAI (NOI) follow‐up. No significant reduction in rates of structural disease recurrence was noted with RAI therapy in comparison to NOI follow‐up (pooled univariate OR, 0.73, 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.29–1.87, I2 = 75%). RAI therapy was not a significant predictor of better recurrence‐free survival (pooled multivariate HR, 0.21; 95% CI, 0.01–3.74, I2 = 94%). Interestingly, RAI therapy was associated with an overall survival benefit compared to NOI follow‐up (pooled multivariate HR, 0.63; 95% CI, 0.48–0.82, I2 = 79%).ConclusionsThis meta‐analysis did not establish a conclusive benefit of RAI therapy in preventing structural disease recurrence or improving recurrence‐free survival in intermediate‐risk PTC. However, these results need to be interpreted with caution owing to significant heterogeneity in the existing literature. A prospective, randomised clinical trial is the need of the hour to better understand the effect of RAI therapy on long‐term outcomes.