• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.213-220
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• 2005

Objective : Thyroid diseases are one of the most common endocrine disorders. However, the first chosen-treatments including anti-thyroidal and hormone-supplement therapy in western medicines, sometimes have failed to improve abnormal thyroid hormone secretions and clinical symptoms. Therefore, there has been a growing expectation for Oriental Medicine to take the role of alternative therapy. However, there has been little analysis of clinical characteristics. In this study, clinical characteristics of thyroidal disease patients who visited Kyung-Hee oriental hospital from January to July 2004 were analyzed. Methods : A total 86 patients diagnosed as hyperthyroidism, hypothyroidism or thyroid nodule were selected. Clinical history, including sex, age, symptoms, disease duration and methods of previous therapy and thyroidal test, such as thyroid function test (TFT), thyroid scan and other thyroid examinations. Results : In distribution of onset age and sex, the patients who have visited oriental hospital with thyroidal diseases showed similar characteristics with typical patients. In clinical symptom, the most frequent clinical sign was fatigue in both hyperthyroidism and hypothyroidism, which differs from the classical characteristics of those diseases. Most patients complained the unresolved symptoms, some of which are attributable to abnormal thyroid hormone secretions, in spite of western therapy with anti-thyroidal and hormone supplement agents. Conclusions : In oriental therapy, it will be necessary to consider the unique clinical features of thyroidal diseases different from classical patterns, and this study suggests that oriental therapy is a good alternative method for patients whose first treatment with western agents failed. Furthermore, more public information to these patients about oriental medicine would be helpful to increase cure rates, and give various choices to patients with thyroid diseases.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.58 no.6
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• pp.224-229
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• 2015

Purpose: Thyroid dysfunction is common in preterm infants. Congenital hypothyroidism causes neurodevelopmental impairment, which is preventable if properly treated. This study was conducted to describe the characteristics of thyroid dysfunction in very low birth weight infants (VLBWIs), evaluate risk factors of hypothyroidism, and suggest the reassessment of thyroid function with an initially normal thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) as part of a newborn screening test. Methods: VLBWIs (January 2010 to December 2012) were divided into two groups according to dysfunction-specific thyroid hormone replacement therapy, and associated factors were evaluated. Results: Of VLBWIs, 246 survivors were enrolled. Only 12.2% (30/246) of enrolled subjects exhibited thyroid dysfunction requiring thyroid hormone replacement. Moreover, only one out of 30 subjects who required thyroid hormone treatment had abnormal thyroid function in the newborn screening test with measured TSH. Most of the subjects in the treatment group (22/30) exhibited delayed TSH elevation. Gestational age, Apgar score, antenatal steroids therapy, respiratory distress syndrome, patent ductus arteriosus, sepsis, intraventricular hemorrhage, postnatal steroids therapy, and duration of mechanical ventilation did not differ between the two groups. Birth weight was smaller and infants with small for gestational age were more frequent in the treatment group. Conclusion: Physicians should not rule out suggested hypothyroidism, even when thyroid function of a newborn screening test is normal. We suggest retesting TSH and free thyroxine in high risk preterm infants with an initially normal TSH level using a newborn screening test.

• Radiation Oncology Journal
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.59-66
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• 1994

Seventy-five patients with tumors of the head and neck treated with either radiation therapy alone or combined with surgery or chemotherapy were studied prospectively to evaluate the effects of radiation therapy to the neck on thyroid gland between September 1986 and October 1992. All patients were serially monitored for thyroid function tests before and after radiation therapy. Radiation dose to the thyroid gland ranged from 35 to 60 Gy with a median dose of 50 Gy. Median follow-up time was 30 months with a range of 11 to 85 months. The incidence of thyroid dysfunction was 40$ \% $: forty-five patients(60$ \% $) euthyroid, 2 patients(3$ \% $) clinical hypothyroidism, 27 patients(36$ \% $) subclinical hypothyroidism and 1 patient(1$ \% $) hyperthyroidism. No thyroid nodules or thyroid cancer were detected in any patients. Thyroid dysfunction appeared earlier in patients who underwent surgery than in those patients treated with radiation therapy alone or combination of chemotherapy and radiation therapy(P=0.0013). By multivariate analysis, risk factors that significantly influenced a higher incidence of thyroid dysfunction were female sex(p=0.0293) and combination of total laryngectomy and radiation therapy(p : 0.0045). In conclusion, evaluation of thyroid function before and after radiation therapy with periodic thyroid function tests are recommended to detect thyroid dysfunction in time and thyroid hormone replacement therapy is recommended whenever thyroid dysfunction develops.

• Korean Journal of Head & Neck Oncology
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• v.37 no.2
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• pp.1-9
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• 2021

Thyroid cancer refers to various cancers arising from thyroid gland. Differentiated thyroid cancers (DTCs) include papillary, follicular, and Hurthle cell carcinomas and represent cancers retain normal thyroid functions such as iodine uptake. Radioactive iodine (RAI) is generally used for upfront treatment of metastatic DTCs, but RAI refractory DTCs remain to be clinical challenges. Sorafenib and lenvatinib were approved for the treatment of RAI refractory DTCs and more recently, genomics-based targeted therapies have been developed for NTRK and RET gene fusion-positive DTCs. Poorly differentiated and anaplastic thyroid cancers (ATCs) are extremely challenging diseases with aggressive courses. BRAF/MEK inhibition has been proven to be highly effective in BRAF V600E mutation-positive ATCs and immune checkpoint inhibitors have shown promising activities. Medullary thyroid cancers, which arise from parafollicular cells of thyroid, represent a unique subset of thyroid cancer and mainly driven by RET mutation. In addition to vandetanib and cabozantinib, highly specific RET inhibitors such as selpercatinib and pralsetinib have demonstrated impressive activity and are in clinical use.

• Journal of Oral Medicine and Pain
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• v.43 no.3
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• pp.84-86
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• 2018

Salivary and lacrimal gland dysfunction is relatively frequent after radioiodine therapy. In most cases this is a transient side effect, but in some patients it may persist for a long period or appear late. Radioiodine ($^{131}I$) therapy is often administered to patients following total thyroidectomy to treat well-differentiated follicular cell-derived thyroid cancer. In addition to the thyroid, $^{131}I$ accumulates in the salivary glands, giving rise to transient or permanent salivary gland damage. Salivary gland dysfunction following radioiodine therapy can be caused by radiation damage. But, it also may be associated with $Sj{\ddot{o}}gren$ syndrome (SS) developed after radioiodine therapy. It would be recommended that the evaluation for SS including anti-SSA/Ro and anti-SSB/La should be considered before and after radioiodine therapy.

• Korean Journal of Head & Neck Oncology
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.61-69
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• 1998

Objectives: The response rate of the radioactive iodine(RI) therapy with low dose was variable. Only a few studies reported the response and complication rate with high dose. The goal of this study was to access the ablation and complication rate after high dose of RI therapy (more than 100mCi) and to evaluate the factors affect the results. Material and Methods: During a period of 12 years, 225 patients received high dose of RI from 100 to 200mCi depending on the RI uptake in the whole body after total thyroidectomy. 100mCi of RI was given to 123 patients for ablation who showed the uptake only in the thyroid bed. 150mCi was given to another 84 patients for ablation who had uptake confined to the neck. The other 21 patients took more than 200mCi of RI because the whole body scan showed distant metastasis. Among these patients, the ablation and the complication rate was investigated. Results: Elevated level of the serum thyroglobulin(Tg) decreased less than 5ng/ml after RI therapy in all patients except two in the first group. The second group showed reduction of the serum Tg in 93%. Eighteen of the 21 patients in the third group are still alive after RI therapy. There were no fatal complications after high dose RI therapy and most of the complications were minimal and transient. The complication rate was not related with the dose of RI, age, sex, DNA flowcytometry, serum thyroglobulin level and the extent of node dissection. Conclusion: We concluded that RI therapy with high dose was very effective for thyroid ablation after operation and it also showed excellent results with minimal complications for treatment of metastatic lesions.

• Korean Journal of Head & Neck Oncology
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• v.35 no.2
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• pp.19-25
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• 2019

Background/Objectives: Although anaplastic thyroid carcinoma (ATC) is rare, it is one of the deadliest forms of thyroid cancer. The fatality rate for ATC is high, and the survival rate at one year after diagnosis is <20%. The present study aimed to investigate the anti-tumor activities of paclitaxel, radiation, and tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) combined therapy in anaplastic thyroid cancer cells both in vitro and in vivo and explore its effects on apoptotic cell death pathways. Materials & Methods: ATC cell line was exposed to TKI, lenvatinib in the presence or absence of paclitaxel with radiation, and cell viability was determined by MTT assay. Effects of the combined treatment on cell cycle and intracellular signaling pathways were assessed by flow cytometry and western blot analysis. The ATC cell line xenograft model was used to examine the anti-tumor activity in vivo. Results: Our data revealed that the combined administration of paclitaxel, TKI, and radiation decreased cell viability in ATC cells, and also significantly increased apoptotic cell death in these cells, as demonstrated by the cleavage of caspase-3 and DNA fragmentation. This combination therapy reduced anti-apoptotic factor levels in ATC cells, while significantly decreasing tumor volume and increasing survival in ATC xenografts. Conclusion: These results indicate that administering the combination of paclitaxel, TKI, and radiation therapy may exert significant anticancer effects in preclinical models, potentially suggesting a new clinical approach for treating patients with ATC.

• The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine
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• v.34 no.4
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• pp.265-275
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• 2000

The thyroid gland is an interesting endocrine organ where a spectrum of tumors with different behavior arise. At one end of spectrum there is differentiated thyroid carcinoma (DTC) with excellent prognosis, whereas at the other end of the spectrum is anaplastic thyroid cancer which has universally poor outcome. Radioiodine (I-131) therapy has been in use for the treatment of thyroid diseases since 1946. It was introduced by Seidlin et al. 1) Although the use of I-131 has been vouge for a long time, its use in therapy for well differentiated thyroid cancer is still controversial 2). This is because, thyroid cancers (TC) are generally slow growing tumors, with low mortality and normal spans of survival. To record recurrence and mortality, long term follow up studies over a period of two to three decades are needed to establish definite conclusions on the acceptable mode of treatment The incidence of the disease being very low a large number of cases needed to establish a meaningful statistical data is lacking as most published reports feat with small series. Here again in the problem encountered are the differing protocols for treatment with I-131, the indications for treatment which may include or exclude ablation of residual thyroid tissue, cervical nodal and distal metastases. The dosage of I-131 used for ablation of residual thyroid tissue and metastatic disease also vary. The most reliable conclusion regarding I-131 treatment are obtained from studies reported on a large series of patients followed over a period of 2 decades or more from a single institute with a more or less unchanged protocol of management.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.28 no.12
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• pp.1155-1159
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• 1995

Differentiated thyroid carcinoma is a slow growing tumor with relative good prognosis. But locally advanced thyroid cancer with T4 or N1b is difficult to manage. Between June 1988 and April 1995, we resected 8 advanced thyroid cancers trans-sternally. All patients had direct mediastinal extension [T4 or mediastinal lymph node metastasis [N1b with airway obstruction or dysphagia. We operated all the patients by partial or total sternotomy for mediastinal dissection along with thyroidectomy and radical neck dissection. There were some acceptable morbidities but no operative mortality. Postoperative radioactive iodine therapy was followed without side effects. Follow-up survival period was between 11 months to 81 months with 2 late mortalities [17 month, 30 month . Although definite benefit for routine mediastinal dissection in thyroid cancer has not been established, in locally advanced cases impending airway obstruction or dysphagia who have questionable effect by radioactive iodine therapy alone, aggressive mediastinal mass dissection including lymph node metastasis has the significant role to prevent the patients from suffocation & dysphagia, and to enhance the effect of followed radioactive iodine tharapy.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.737-740
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• 2015

Purpose: The study aim was to assess factors that impact on the outcome of radioiodine therapy in patients diagnosed with differentiated thyroid carcinoma (DTC). Materials and Methods: We performed a retrospective cohort study on 256 patients with DTC who underwent thyroidectomy and received radioiodine therapy during December 2003 to January 2012. All patients were followed up for at least 1 year. They were considered diseasefree by the criteria of the revised American Thyroid Association Management Guideline for Patients with Thyroid nodules and DTC (ATA guideline 2009). Results: On Cox univariate analysis, factors associated with disease-free status were age<45, stage I tumor, low risk group by histopathology, unifocal tumor involvement, stimulated serum Tg level at 1st dose of radioiodine therapy and no distant metastasis from 1st post-treatment WBS (post RxWBS). On multivariate analysis, stage I tumor and stimulated serum Tg level at 1st dose of radioiodine therapy < 30 ng/mL were the significant prognostic factors that increased disease-free rate by 1.73 times and 2.60 times, respectively (P-value <0.05). Conclusions: Factors affecting the outcome of radioiodine therapy in our study were age, stage, risk of recurrence by histopathology, unifocal tumor involvement and 1st postRxWBS findings. From these factors, stage I tumor and stimulated serum Tg level at 1st dose of radioiodine therapy were independent prognostic factors that substantial increase the disease-free rate.