Figure 1
Clinical characteristics of the patients and the history of radioiodine therapy
| Clinical characteristic | Subgroup | All patients N = 220 | Without history of RAI therapy N = 203 | With history of RAI therapy N = 17 | p-value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gender | Male | 68 | 66 | 2 | 0.10 |
| Female | 152 | 137 | 15 | ||
| Age | 70 years or less | 124 | 114 | 10 | 1.00 |
| 71 years or more | 96 | 89 | 7 | ||
| Year of diagnosis | 1972–1986 | 95 | 89 | 6 | 0.023 |
| 1987–2001 | 87 | 83 | 4 | ||
| 2002–2017 | 38 | 31 | 7 | ||
| Previous thyroid | No or no data | 110 | 108 | 2 | 0.001 |
| enlargement (> 1 year) | Yes | 110 | 95 | 15 | |
| General condition | Good | 92 | 85 | 7 | 0.063 |
| Moderate | 58 | 57 | 1 | ||
| Poor | 70 | 61 | 9 | ||
| Tumor growth | ≥ 3 months | 173 | 157 | 16 | 0.13 |
| < 3 months | 47 | 16 | 1 | ||
| Local tumor extension | Extrathyroid | 199 | 183 | 16 | 1.00 |
| Intrathyroid | 21 | 20 | 1 | ||
| Tumor size | < 5 cm | 35 | 34 | 1 | 0.50 |
| 5–10 cm | 105 | 96 | 9 | ||
| ≥ 10 cm | 80 | 73 | 7 | ||
| Tumor volume (width2 x length)/2 | < 50 ml | 16 | 16 | 0 | 0.19 |
| 50–99 ml | 37 | 36 | 1 | ||
| 100–149 ml | 22 | 20 | 2 | ||
| 150–199 ml | 18 | 18 | 0 | ||
| 200 ml or more | 127 | 113 | 14 | ||
| Lymph nodes metastases | No | 127 | 117 | 10 | 1.00 |
| Yes | 93 | 86 | 7 | ||
| Distant metastases | No | 113 | 105 | 8 | 0.83 |
| Yes | 107 | 98 | 9 | ||
| Presentation of anaplastic carcinoma | Incidental | 8 | 8 | 0 | 0.51 |
| Evident | 212 | 195 | 17 | ||
| TNM stage | IVA | 17 | 16 | 1 | 0.91 |
| IVB | 96 | 89 | 7 | ||
| IVC | 107 | 98 | 9 | ||
| Thyroid surgery | Without surgery | 130 | 117 | 13 | 0.56 |
| Biopsy | 23 | 22 | 1 | ||
| Subtotal thyroidectomy | 13 | 12 | 1 | ||
| Extracapsular lobectomy with isthmusectomy | 17 | 17 | 0 | ||
| Total or near-total thyroidectomy | 37 | 35 | 2 | ||
| Residual tumor after surgery | Biopsy or no surgery | 153 | 139 | 14 | 0.32 |
| R0 | 32 | 32 | 0 | ||
| R1 | 18 | 17 | 1 | ||
| R2 | 17 | 15 | 2 | ||
| Lymph node dissection | No | 211 | 194 | 17 | 1.00 |
| Yes | 9 | 9 | 0 | ||
| External beam irradiation | No | 37 | 30 | 7 | 0.005 |
| Yes | 183 | 173 | 10 | ||
| Dose of radiotherapy | Without or ≤ 20 Gy | 54 | 47 | 7 | 0.244 |
| > 20 Gy and ≤ 45 Gy | 74 | 70 | 4 | ||
| > 45 Gy | 92 | 86 | 6 | ||
| Chemotherapy | No | 81 | 75 | 6 | 1.00 |
| Yes | 139 | 128 | 11 | ||
| Death because of ATC | No (alive, other causes, lost from follow up) | 13 | 12 | 1 | 1.00 |
| Yes | 207 | 191 | 16 |
Clinical characteristics of patients and 15-year periods
| Clinical characteristic | Subgroup | All patients N = 220 Number | Patients 1972–1986 N=95 Number | Patients 1987–2001 N = 87 Number | Patients 2002-2017 N = 38 Number | p-value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gender | Male | 68 | 27 | 29 | 12 | 0.77 |
| Female | 152 | 68 | 58 | 26 | ||
| Age | 70 years or less | 124 | 59 | 49 | 16 | 0.11 |
| 71 years or more | 96 | 36 | 38 | 22 | ||
| History of radioiodine therapy | No | 203 | 89 | 83 | 31 | 0.023 |
| Yes | 17 | 6 | 4 | 7 | ||
| Previous thyroid enlargement (> 1 year) | No or no data | 110 | 46 | 49 | 26 | 0.036 |
| Yes | 110 | 49 | 38 | 12 | ||
| General condition | Good | 92 | 47 | 33 | 12 | 0.13 |
| Moderate | 58 | 25 | 20 | 13 | ||
| Poor | 70 | 23 | 34 | 13 | ||
| Tumor growth | ≥ 3 months | 173 | 70 | 72 | 31 | 0.29 |
| < 3 months | 47 | 25 | 15 | 7 | ||
| Local tumor extension | Extrathyroid | 199 | 87 | 78 | 34 | 0.88 |
| Intrathyroid | 21 | 8 | 9 | 4 | ||
| Tumor size | < 5 cm | 35 | 20 | 12 | 3 | 0.043 |
| 5–10 cm | 105 | 40 | 39 | 26 | ||
| ≥ 10 cm | 80 | 35 | 36 | 9 | ||
| Tumor volume (width2 x length)/2 | < 50 ml | 16 | 7 | 5 | 4 | 0.68 |
| 50–99 ml | 37 | 19 | 14 | 4 | ||
| 100–149 ml | 22 | 6 | 12 | 4 | ||
| 150–199 ml | 18 | 9 | 7 | 2 | ||
| 200 ml or more | 127 | 54 | 49 | 24 | ||
| Lymph nodes | No | 127 | 45 | 54 | 28 | 0.012 |
| metastases | Yes | 93 | 50 | 33 | 10 | |
| Distant metastases | No | 113 | 46 | 48 | 19 | 0.65 |
| Yes | 107 | 49 | 39 | 19 | ||
| Presentation of anaplastic carcinoma | Incidental | 8 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0.50 |
| Evident | 212 | 91 | 83 | 38 | ||
| TNM stage | IVA | 17 | 5 | 9 | 3 | 0.73 |
| IVB | 96 | 41 | 39 | 16 | ||
| IVC | 107 | 49 | 39 | 19 | ||
| Thyroid surgery | Without surgery | 130 | 48 | 52 | 30 | 0.029 |
| Biopsy | 23 | 13 | 10 | 0 | ||
| Subtotal thyroidectomy | 13 | 10 | 3 | 0 | ||
| Extracapsular lobectomy with isthmusectomy | 17 | 9 | 7 | 1 | ||
| Total or near-total thyroidectomy | 37 | 15 | 15 | 7 | ||
| Residual tumor after surgery | Biopsy or no surgery | 153 | 61 | 62 | 30 | 0.55 |
| R0 | 32 | 18 | 10 | 4 | ||
| R1 | 18 | 9 | 6 | 3 | ||
| R2 | 17 | 7 | 9 | 1 | ||
| Lymph node dissection | No | 211 | 90 | 83 | 38 | 0.36 |
| Yes | 9 | 5 | 4 | 0 | ||
| External beam irradiation | No | 37 | 22 | 11 | 4 | 0.087 |
| Yes | 183 | 73 | 76 | 36 | ||
| External beam irradiation | Without or ≤ 20 Gy | 54 | 33 | 15 | 6 | 0.001 |
| > 20 Gy and 45 Gy | 74 | 41 | 26 | 7 | ||
| > 45 Gy | 92 | 21 | 46 | 25 | ||
| Chemotherapy | No | 81 | 38 | 24 | 19 | 0.04 |
| Yes | 139 | 57 | 63 | 19 | ||
| Death because of anaplastic carcinoma | No (alive, other causes, lost from follow-up) | 13 | 3 | 7 | 13 | 0.32 |
| Yes | 207 | 92 | 80 | 25 |