To, J., Goldberg, A.S., Jones, J., Zhang, J., Lowe, J., Ezzat, S., . . . Sawka, A.M. (2014). A systematic review of randomized controlled trials for management of persistent post-treatment fatigue in thyroid cancer survivors. Thyroid, 25, 198–210.
PHASE OF CARE: Late effects and survivorship
Two studies examined use of T3 and T4. In one study comparing the combination of T3 and T4 to T4 alone, the fatigue subscale of the Profile of Mood states showed significant improvement at five weeks. One study using T4 compared to maintenance TSH suppression showed improvement in one subscale of the multidimensional fatigue scale at six months but no change in other fatigue subscales. Two references that reported on one study examined the impact of an exercise program.
There is insufficient evidence to demonstrate the impact of the administration of T3 or T4 on fatigue in patients who had thyroid cancer.
There was a small number of studies included, the number participants recruited in the identified studies was small, and some of these studies were of low quality.
There is insufficient evidence to evaluate any benefits of the administration of T3 or T4 for the management of fatigue among patients receiving TSH suppressive therapy