Breast I-131 Uptake in a Postpartum Woman with Thyroid Cancer: A Case Report

I-131 uptake in the breast could be occasionally observed in differentiated thyroid cancer who received I-131 scintigraphy or therapy. Herein, we report a postpartum patient with papillary thyroid cancer with breast uptake who received I-131 therapy.

A 33-year-old postpartum woman with thyroid cancer received 120mCi(4440MBq) I- 131 therapy 5 weeks after she ceased to breastfeed. The second day after ingestion of I-131, wholebody scintigraphy demonstrated asymmetric and marked uptake in bilateral breasts. The radiation dose of I-131 in the lactating breast would decrease rapidly by reducing the activity of breasts and expressing breast milk with an electric pump once daily.

The sixth day after administration, scintigraphy demonstrated weak uptake in bilateral breasts.

Physiologic I-131 uptake in the breast could occur in a postpartum woman with thyroid cancer who received I-131 therapy. In this patient, we find that the radiation dose of I-131 accumulated in the lactating breast would decrease rapidly through reducing the activity of breasts and expressing breast milk with an electric pump, which may be a better choice for the postpartum patient who was not given lactation-inhibiting medications and had I-131 therapy.