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Current Medical Imaging

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ISSN (Print): 1573-4056
ISSN (Online): 1875-6603

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Case Report

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

Author(s): Jie Qiao and Ni Zeng*

Volume 19, Issue 12, 2023

Published on: 16 March, 2023

Article ID: e200223213822 Pages: 4

DOI: 10.2174/1573405619666230220140828

Price: $65

Abstract

Background: 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.

Case Report: 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.

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

Conclusion: 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.

Graphical Abstract

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