Can Iodine-131 Cure Lymphatic Metastasis?

Iodine-131 may not necessarily cure lymphatic metastasis. Lymphatic metastasis of thyroid cancer is highly possible. Whether iodine-131 treatment is needed not only depends on the number of lymph node metastases but also on the severity of the disease itself. If the iodine absorption rate of lymph nodes is good, iodine-131 has a certain effect on curing lymphatic metastasis in this case.

1. Iodine-131 may not necessarily eliminate metastatic lymph nodes. Over 50% or even 80% of thyroid cancers reported in some literature will have lymphatic metastasis. Lymphatic metastasis does not mean that patients must undergo iodine-131 treatment. First, it depends on the number of lymph node metastases. If the patient has fewer than 5 lymph node metastases, it is still considered a low-risk situation from the perspective of quantity.

2. In addition, the size of the lesion itself in thyroid cancer lymphatic metastasis should also be considered. At the same time, whether the lesion has broken through the lymph node envelope after thyroid cancer lymphatic metastasis is also a factor to be considered. These three aspects are used to assess whether iodine-131 treatment is needed for thyroid cancer.

3. If a patient with thyroid malignancy has lymphatic metastasis, iodine-131 treatment can be used for treatment. Especially for patients with good iodine absorption rate in lymph nodes, the effect of iodine-131 treatment on metastatic lymph nodes is very good.