Scintigraphic thyroid abnormalities after radiation. A controlled study with 99mTc pertechnetate scanning

We did 99mTc-pertechnetate thyroid scintigraphy on 99 subjects with no history of therapeutic irradiation to the head or neck. They were compared with 198 irradiated patients selected from a group of over 1700 who were evaluated because of radiation treatment for benign head and neck conditions during childhood. The two groups were similar with respect to age and sex distribution. There were significantly more abnormal scintigrams in the irradiated group (55 of 198 patients versus one of 99 controls). Even after patients and controls with palpable nodules were excluded from the analysis there were still more abnormal scintigrams in the irradiated group (16 of 150 irradiated versus one of 97 control subjects). We conclude that thyroid nodules, including the smaller, nonpalpable nodules discovered by scintigraphy, are related to previous radiation therapy. For persons at substantial risk, such as those who received high-dose treatment (greater than 700 R) during childhood, the data support the use of screening scintigraphy, even with normal findings on palpation.