Purpose To investigate the clinical importance of serum thyroglobulin (Tg) levels just before high-dose I-131 ablation therapy (preablation Tg) for predicting therapeutic failure in patients with papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC).
Methods Patients with PTC (n=132) undergoing total thyroidectomy followed by the first high-dose I-131 ablationtherapy (HI-Rx) were included in this retrospective review.
Results Therapeutic failure was noted in 39 patients (29.5 %).
Conclusions A high preablation Tg level is the most significant predictor of therapeutic failure at the time of first HI-Rx in patients with PTC.