Evaluation of recurrence risk in patients with papillary thyroid cancer through tumor-node-metastasis staging: A single-center observational study in Taiwan

Background: Many patients with papillary thyroid cancer (PTC) demonstrate satisfactory outcomes. However, 8%–28% of patients with PTC show tumor recurrence, which may affect prognosis. Therefore, identifying factors associated with tumor recurrence in patients with PTC may be helpful to refine therapeutic strategies. Methods: To identify factors associated with PTC recurrence, we retrospectively reviewed demographic features (sex and age), operation method, image character, serum thyroglobulin (Tg), accumulated radioactive iodine (I-131) therapeutic dose, I-131 uptake, and metastases at diagnosis in 829 patients with PTC. Patients were grouped into early (stage I and II; n = 698) and advanced (stage III and IV; n = 131) tumor-node-metastasis (TNM) stages. Recurrence rate, mortality rate, risk factors of recurrence, recurrent free survival and overall survival curve were compared between two groups. Results: Patients in the early stage demonstrated a lower recurrence rate (7.2%) than did those in the advanced stage (28.2%, p < 0.05). The mortality rate of patients with recurrence in the advanced stage was higher than that of those in the early stage (51.4% vs. 12.0%). The major impact factors on tumor recurrence in early TNM stage were distant metastasis and lymph node metastasis, while in advanced TNM stage were distant metastasis, male gender, total thyroidectomy with limited lymph node dissection, and a high serum Tg level. Conclusions: Strategies to monitor tumor recurrence might be refined according to the TNM stages of PTC patients.