Introduction: The purpose of this study was to determine the incidence of radiation induced hypothyroidism after treatment with radiotherapy alone or in combination with surgery/chemotherapy in head & neck cancer patients. Methods: This study was a retrospective non-randomized trial performed on 100 patients of head & neck cancer in whom definitive radiotherapy, postoperative radiotherapy or radiotherapy in combination with chemotherapy was given. Values of TSH, T3 & T4 were analyzed at baseline and at 6 monthly follow-up. Subclinical hypothyroidism was defined as TSH value of > 4 mU/L and Clinical hypothyroidism was taken as TSH > 10 mU/L with decreased T3 & T4. Results: Out of 100 patients, 73 individuals were euthyroid at the end of 2-year follow-up, 21% had subclinical hypothyroidism and 6% had clinical hypothyroidism. The incidence of subclinical hypothyroidism in the surgery plus radiotherapy group and the radiotherapy group was 22.3% & 50%, respectively. The incidence of clinical hypothyroidism in the surgery plus radio therapy group and the radiotherapy group was 6.5% & nil, respectively. Conclusion: The incidence of hypothyroidism is high in head & neck cancer patients receiving radiotherapy. The risk is higher in patients who undergo surgery in combination with radiotherapy. Regular thyroid function test is, therefore, recommended.
JavaScript is turned off in your web browser. Turn it on to take full advantage of this site, then refresh the page.