Software "Activity Determination: for determination of activity of 131I for treatment of patients with differentiated thyroid cancer
Abstract
Thyroid cancer is the most frequent endocrine malignity and its incidence grows in Europe as well as in other parts of the world in recent years. The increase in incidence is seen mainly in differentiated microcarcinomas (size to 10 mm) and low-risk carcinomas (up to 20 mm).
Treatment of differentiated thyroid cancer includes thyreoablation by iodine 131I that should induce long-term remission or complete healing of the patients. Recent developments in therapy of thyroid carcinomas aim to decrease the amount of radioiodine administered to patients - to implement more efficient, better targeted, less invasive and cheaper methods that result in the best possible quality of patients' lives.
We created a computer program that serves for individualized optimization of administered radioiodine activity based on clinical and laboratory data of patients at the Department of Nuclear Medicine and Endocrinology. The algorithm of the program reflects the current practice in radioiodine administration; its correct implementation was tested on a sample of current patients as well as on retrospective data from the research database of our clinic.