Radioiodine therapy and thyroid inflammation (RAIN study)_v1
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Does persisting thyroid inflammation explain poor quality of life after radioiodine therapy?
IRAS ID
340093
Contact name
Earn H Gan
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
The Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Duration of Study in the UK
2 years, 11 months, 29 days
Research summary
Radioiodine therapy is a highly effective for Graves’ disease (GD) and is now being offered as the first-line definitive treatment. A study by Dr Torring and colleagues (2019) observed that patients who received radioiodine therapy for GD have worse quality of life 6 to 10 years later, compared to people treated with thyroid surgery: the reason for this is not obvious. Understandably, this study has raised concerns among some patients and have put them off having radioiodine treatment. Graves’ disease is an autoimmune condition where the immune system turns against the thyroid gland, making it over-active. During the process, the immune system produces proteins called thyroid autoantibodies. These autoantibodies disappear after thyroid surgery but persist for many years in >50% of patients receiving radioiodine therapy for Graves’ disease. The effects of the radiation damaging the thyroid and producing inflammation, which is reflected partly by persisting thyroid autoantibodies in the blood have not yet been investigated
We will perform a clinical study to investigate whether persistent thyroid inflammation explains poor quality of life after radioiodine therapy in Graves’ disease. If this concept is proven, medication to reduce inflammation would improve the outcome of patients receiving radioiodine therapy. We will recruit 20 patients treated with radioiodine therapy and 10 with thyroid surgery, at the weekly Benign Thyroid Diseases Clinic in Newcastle. We will use blood tests, 2 sets of quality of life questionnaires and thyroid PET scans to study the relationship between thyroid inflammation and quality of life. The blood tests will comprise thyroid autoantibodies, blood markers of inflammation and measurement of small proteins involved in inflammation and immune processes (cytokines). Participants will have 3 visits in total; baseline, 6-month and 12-month. Ten of the 20 patients treated with radioiodine will have PET scans at baseline and 12-month.
REC name
Yorkshire & The Humber - South Yorkshire Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
24/YH/0161
Date of REC Opinion
1 Aug 2024
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion