Abstract:
Objective To investigate the risk factors of salivary gland injury in patients with differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC) after 131I treatment.
Methods The clinical data of 107 patients with DTC who received 131I treatment in the First Hospital of Shanxi Medical University from January 2019 to July 2022 were retrospectively analyzed. The patients included 35 males and 72 females, aged (42.8±1.0) years. The age, body mass index, systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, histopathological classification and stage of the primary tumor, lymph node metastasis, diabetes, thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) level before 131I treatment, levothyroxine sodium discontinuation (L-T4) time, 131I treatment dose, 131I whole-body imaging, and other clinical data were compared between patients with salivary gland injury and those with normal salivary gland. Univariate analysis of variance was used to compare the measurement data conforming to normal distribution, and χ2 test was used to compare count data. Fisher's exact probability method was used when the expected frequency is less than 5. Univariate regression analyses and multivariate Logistic regression analyses were conducted to identify factors related to salivary gland injury.
Results Among 107 DTC patients, 37 cases had salivary gland injury with an incidence of 34.6%. Univariate regression analysis showed that age and systolic blood pressure of patients with salivary gland injury were higher than those of patients with normal salivary gland ((45.84±2.10) years vs. (41.11±0.97) years, (127.59±3.10) mm Hg vs. (119.86±1.84) mm Hg); the TSH level before 131I treatment of patients with salivary gland injury was lower than that of patients with normal salivary gland ((99.82±8.46) mIU/L vs. (122.59±4.03) mIU/L), and the differences were statistically significant (F=5.457, 5.210, 6.288; all P<0.05). Multivariate Logistic regression analysis showed that age, TSH level before 131I treatment, and systolic blood pressure were independent risk factors for salivary gland injury (OR=1.017, 0.989, 1.023; all P>0.05).
Conclusion Old age, low TSH level before 131I treatment, and high systolic blood pressure are related factors to salivary gland injury in patients with DTC after 131I treatment.