Older Patients with Stage 1 Thyroid Cancer Paradoxically Show Better Survival

the Cancer Therapy Advisor take:

Older patients with stage 1 differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC) paradoxically show better survival than expected based on age and sex, according to a German study published in the Journal of Nuclear Medicine.

Researchers from the University Hospital Münster analyzed 2,428 patients with DTC who underwent treatment from 1965 to 2013 in order to compare overall survival with the general population. Subgroup analysis was also performed in regard to age at diagnosis, with overall survival compared with expected survival in the general population.

The researchers found that overall survival of patients with stage 1 disease was paradoxically better in patients with DTC compared with expected survival. Upon subgroup analysis, they found a significantly lower mortality rate in elderly patients aged 60 or older with stage 1 disease.

However, patients who were between the ages of 20 to 45 who had distant metastases at diagnosis had a significantly increased mortality rate, and other patients with stage 2 disease had normal mortality.

“For all other DTC patients regardless of age or TNM stage, no significant survival difference was seen,” the authors concluded.