Is there any risk to stimulating tumor growth or swelling after Thyrogen?
At present, there is little data to support a rapid change in tumor growth after two Thyrogen injections. A few patients with extensive thyroid cancer have developed local swelling, likely due to inflammation, at the site of recurrent tumor, that responded to treatment with steroid hormones. Hence, the risks of adverse events after Thyrogen administration are very low, but no medication, including Thyrogen, should be viewed as completely free of any potential side effects. See Sudden Enlargement of Local Recurrent Thyroid Tumor after Recombinant Human TSH Administration. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2001 Nov;86(11):5148-51 and Near-lethal respiratory failure after recombinant human thyroid-stimulating hormone use in a patient with metastatic thyroid carcinoma. Thyroid. 2003 Aug;13(8):827-30.
