Protein and lipid concentrations in patients with differentiated thyroid cancer treated with radioactive iodine-131

Abstract

© 2014 University of Kragujevac, Faculty of Science. All rights reserved. Short-term, overt hypothyroidism in patients with differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC) before radioiodine (131-I) therapy might be accompanied by a number of metabolic changes, including altered protein and lipid metabolism. Protein concentrations and their relationship to lipids in the serum of DTC patients have not been fully elucidated. Th e aim of our study was to evaluate the protein and lipid concentrations in 24 DTC patients before and 3 and 7 days after 131-I therapy compared with those of 20 healthy control subjects. After radioiodine therapy, the mean protein concentration (78.71 -} 6.71 g/L vs. 87.16 -} 6.04 g/L; p = 0.003) and cholesterol level (8.12 ±} 2.13 mmol/L vs. 8.84 -} 2.09 mmol/L; p = 0.001) were lower 3 days after therapy; this persisted up to 7 days after therapy, whereas triglyceride concentrations were higher 3 days after therapy (2.44 -} 1.07 mmol/L vs. 2.26 -} 1.08 mmol/L; p = 0.041) and returned towards the pretreatment values at 7 days after 131-I therapy. Th ere was an indirect correlation between the protein and triglyceride concentrations 3 days after 131-I therapy in patients over 50 years old (Spearman’s r =-0.583, p = 0.048) but not in patients under 50 years old (Pearson’s r =-0.277, p = 0.384). Radioiodine therapy of DTC patients led to decreased serum protein and cholesterol concentrations, accompanied by increased triglyceride levels; these changes were especially evident in older subjects with metastases.