ABSTRACT
Differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC) is an endocrine tumour with mostly good prognosis that requires life long followup. Primary treatments are total thyroidectomy (TT) and radioactive iodine (RAI) therapy. Complete removal of thyroid tissue with TT and RAI causes serum thyroglobuline (Tg) levels to fall to undetectable levels. Thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) levels have an important role both in preparation for RAI and detection of disease status with stimulated Tg levels in the follow-up. Recently, recombinant human TSH (rhTSH) usage has been incorporated to our clinical practice in I-131 whole body scintigraphy and/or measurement of serum Tg levels and in preparation for RAI ablation. In this review, clinical applications of rhTSH in the therapy and follow-up of DTC will be focused on.
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