Radioiodine therapy for differentiated thyroid carcinoma with thyroglobulin positive and radioactive iodine negative metastases

Background Differentiated thyroid carcinoma with thyroglobulin positive and radioactive iodine negative metastases has been observed in follow-up studies. The management of this condition remains controversial. Most studies support blind radioactive iodine treatment while others negate this approach. Objectives To assess the effects of radioiodine therapy for differentiated thyroid carcinoma with thyroglobulin positive and radioactive iodine negative metastases. Search strategy Studies were obtained from computerised searches of MEDLINE, EMBASE, The Cochrane Library, China National Infrastructure (CNKI) and paper collections of conferences held in Chinese. Selection criteria Randomised controlled clinical trials and prospective controlled clinical trials. Data collection and analysis Two authors independently extracted data and interviewed authors of all potentially relevant studies by electronic mail to verify randomisation procedures. One author entered data into a data extraction form and the second one verified the results of this procedure. Main results Because of the absence of any suitable randomised or prospective controlled trial in this area, results currently cannot be presented. Authors' conclusions The currently available evidence is insufficient to reliably assess the potential of radioiodine treatment for differentiated thyroid carcinoma with thyroglobulin positive and radioactive iodine negative metastases.