Association between radioiodine treatment for thyroid cancer and risk of stroke.

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the association between radioiodine (I-131) therapy for thyroid cancer and the risk of stroke in Taiwan. A total of 10104 of the patients aged 20 years or older, who were newly diagnosed with thyroid cancer during 2000-2010, were recruited and classified into 2 cohorts according to whether they received I-131 therapy through 1:1 propensity score matching. The cumulative Kaplan-Meier curves for the incidence of stroke in the 2 cohorts were compared using the log-rank test. After adjustment for age, sex, and comorbidities, the I-131 therapy group showed no significantly higher risk of ischemic stroke (adjusted HR [aHR] = 1.05; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.82-1.34) or hemorrhagic stroke (aHR = 1.06; 95% CI = 0.58-1.93) than did the non-I-131 therapy group. The I-131 treatment for thyroid cancer did not increase the risk of stroke during 10-year follow-up.