Effect of reoperation on outcomes in papillary thyroid cancer

Abstract

Background: The influence of lymph node recurrences of papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) on overall prognosis is uncertain. We performed a population-based, longitudinal analysis to evaluate the impact of reoperation on mortality.

Methods: Patients who underwent initial operation for PTC >1 cm were abstracted from the California Cancer Registry database (1999-2008). Reoperation was defined as any lymph node dissection after total or near-total thyroidectomy.

Results: Of the 11,986 patients included in the study, 222 (1.9%) underwent one or more reoperations. The median time to reoperation was 8.7 months, with 58.6% and 83.8% of reoperations being performed within 1 and 2 years of initial thyroidectomy, respectively. The mortality rate from PTC was 2.3% (271 patients). After we adjusted for age, sex, tumor size, stage, and radioactive iodine treatment, we found that reoperation was associated with an increased risk of all-cause mortality in patients ≥45 years of age (hazard ratio [HR] 1.51, P < .05). Reoperation was associated with an increased risk of disease-specific mortality in both patients <45 (HR 6.22, P < .01) and ≥45 (HR 2.49, P < .001).

Conclusion: Reoperation is independently associated with mortality in PTC. Most reoperations are performed soon after initial thyroidectomy and likely reflect persistent rather than recurrent disease.