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Abstract
Purpose
This study analyzes the clinical characteristics of thyroid cancer patients over 70 years of age following thyroidectomy. We identified the differences among previous studies and investigated the significance of thyroidectomy for elderly thyroid cancer patients.
Methods
Information was abstracted from the charts of fifty-six patients treated during the period of Jan. 1995 to Dec. 2015. The abstraction included gender, age, surgical method, location with size of the main lesion, extent of lymph node metastasis, pathological features, gene mutation, complication, stage and most recent visit.
Results
Our study showed a frequent occurrence (96.4% of the study group) of papillary thyroid cancers in elderly patients. There were three cases of postoperative complications. None had recurrence, and there was only one death due to complications of pneumonia. There were 11 advanced cases of cancer stage IV.
Conclusion
Previous studies show that postoperative prognosis of elderly thyroid cancer patients is favorable. Average life expectancy is rising in South Korea, and therefore, the number of elderly thyroid cancer patients is increasing. Our study is meaningful in that it confirms the results of previous studies by surveying elderly patients over a 20 year period. It is deemed necessary that thyroidectomy be performed on elderly patients.
References
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Table 1.
Clinicopathologic data of old patients who underwent thyroidectomy (n=56)
Table 2.
Complication rates of thyroidectomy in old patients (n=56)
Table 3.
Comparisons of clinicopathologic characteristics & recurrence rates between the current study and previous ones
| Characteristics | Current study | Cho (12) | Lee (13) | Chow (14) | Howlander (15) | Elisei (16) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. of subjects | 56 | 2,900 | 4,646 | 733 | 2,400 | 2,972 |
| Sex (Female %) | 80.3% | 82% | 86.5% | 80% | 73% | 74.8% |
| Age | 72.9±2.6 | 49±12 | – | 47±16 | 46 (median) | 43±14 |
| Size | 1.6±1.4 | 1.4±1.2 | – | 2.5 cm (average) | – | – |
| ＜2 cm | 73% | 30.5% | 75.6% | – | – | – |
| 2∼4 cm | 21% | 40.2% | 20.1% | – | – | – |
| ＞4 cm | 6% | 29.3% | 4.3% | – | – | – |
| PTMC* | 43% | 43.1% | – | 21.7% | – | 28.7% |
| Papillary carcinoma | 96.4% | 91.5% | 90.8% | 88% | 88% | 91% |
| Follicular carcinoma | 1.7% | 7.3% | 4.9% | 12% | 9% | 9% |
| Invasion | ||||||
| LN metastasis | 20% | 44.4% | – | 24.8% | 25% | 22.4% |
| Extrathyroidal extension | 35% | 54.8% | – | 42.7% | – | 18.3% |
| Recurrence | 0% | 7.6% | – | 14.1% | – |
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