Abstract
Background and Objectives
Among the geriatric population, there is a lower incidence of thyroid carcinoma (TC), but it accounts for 30% of all thyroid disorders compared to 6โ8% in younger subjects. Prognosis, moreover, is worse in the elderly, as demonstrated by the fact that 81% of deaths related to these tumors occur in patients over 55. The aim of this retrospective study was to identify the characteristics of differentiated thyroid carcinoma (DTC) peculiar to the elderly.
Methods
Of 638 patients who underwent surgery for DTC over a period of 30 years, 46 were more than 70 years old. All the elderly patients had undergone radioioidine and TSHโsuppression therapy following surgical resection.
Results and Conclusions
Despite these measures, the rate of recurrence was 26.5% at 5 years and 63.6% at 10 years. The 5โ and 10โyear diseaseโspecific survival rates were 87.8% and 63.6%, respectively. On an average, survival was 55.1 months when death was diseaseโrelated, and with regard to histological type, it was longer in papillary carcinoma than in the follicular variant, and longest of all in occult sclerosing carcinoma. Survival was greatest in patients with tumors less than 2 cm in diameter, characterized by the absence of extraglandular spread and by lymph node metastasis. J. Surg. Oncol. 2006;93: 194โ198. ยฉ 2006 WileyโLiss, Inc.