Radioiodine Thyroid Remnant Ablation after Recombinant Human Thyrotropin or Thyroid Hormone Withdrawal in Patients with High-Risk Differentiated Thyroid Cancer

Table 3

Disease status at the end of followup.

Variable	rhTSH group (n = 18)	THW group (n = 27)	P
Postablation followup, months, mean ± SD	40 ± 16	54 ± 40	0.02
Disease status^a at the end of followup, % (n)
NED	72% (13)	59% (16)	0.03
Persistent disease	22% (4)	33% (9)	0.03
Recurrent disease	6% (1)	7% (2)	NS
Sites of persistent disease, n
Local	0	2	Not tested
Lymph nodes	1	3
Unknown (biochemical only)^b	3	4
Sites of recurrence, n
Local	0	0	Not tested
Lymph nodes	1	2
Unknown (biochemical only)^b	0	0

NED: no evidence of disease; rhTSH: recombinant human thyroid-stimulating hormone; SD: standard deviation; THW: thyroid hormone withdrawal or withholding.
^aPlease refer to “Materials and Methods” section for a description of potential disease states.
^bRefers to elevated stimulated Tg (>2 μg/L) without structural evidence of disease.