Management of Thyroid Nodules and Cancers Arising in the Elderly

Eunyoung Kim; June Young Choi; Kyu Eun Lee

doi:10.11106/jkta.2012.5.2.99

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Kim, Choi, and Lee: Management of Thyroid Nodules and Cancers Arising in the Elderly

Review Article

Journal of Korean Thyroid Association

Journal of Korean Thyroid Association 2012; 5(2): 99-103.

Published online: 28 November 2012

DOI: https://doi.org/10.11106/jkta.2012.5.2.99

Management of Thyroid Nodules and Cancers Arising in the Elderly

Eunyoung Kim, June Young Choi, Kyu Eun Lee

Department of Surgery, Seoul National University Hospital and College of Medicine, Division of Surgery, Thyroid Center, Seoul National University Cancer Center and Cancer Research Institute and Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.

Correspondence: Kyu Eun Lee, MD, PhD, Cancer Research Institute, Seoul National University College of Medicine, 101 Daehak-ro, Jongno-gu, Seoul 110-744, Korea. Tel: 82-2-2072-2018, Fax: 82-2-766-3975, kyulee@medimail.co.kr

Received 26 April 2012 Accepted 25 June 2012

(open-access):

This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/), which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Abstract

As population is rapidly aging, thyroid nodules and cancers arising in the elderly are increasing. However, treatment strategy is not well established in the elderly. With few guidelines, it is important to identify the characteristics of thyroid nodules and cancers in the elderly. Among this population, thyroid nodules and prevalence of multinodular goiter are increasing with advanced age in both male and female. It is not clear age or multinodular goiter is associated with increased risk of malignancy. The incidence of differentiated thyroid carcinoma in the elderly is increasing, particularly in male patients. Moreover, anaplastic carcinoma is more frequent in the elderly. Prognosis is believed to be worse in the elderly. However, surgery for thyroid cancer increases the survival rate and it is safe to perform thyroid surgery in the elderly. Radical surgery is acceptable in the elderly, if their general condition permits surgery.

Keywords: Thyroid nodule, Thyroid neoplasm, Frail elderly

Figures and Tables

Table 1

Characteristics of thyroid cancers arising in the elderly

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