Decreasing the dose of radioiodine for remnant ablation does not increase structural recurrence rates in papillary thyroid carcinoma.

Background: Our aim was to compare the rate of structural recurrence between patients who had lesser doses of radioactive iodine (RAI) and those who had traditional greater doses for remnant ablation after total thyroidectomy for papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC).

Methods: A retrospective cohort study of patients who had undergone thyroidectomy and RAI for PTC was undertaken. We divided the cohort into those who had < or =3 GBq (75 mCi) RAI (group A) and those who had >3 GBq (75 mCi) RAI (group B).