Outcomes in patients with poorly differentiated thyroid carcinoma

Abstract

Background: Poorly differentiated thyroid cancer (PDTC) accounts for only 1-15% of all thyroid cancers. Our objective is to report outcomes in a large series of patients with PDTC treated at a single tertiary care cancer center.

Methods: A total of 91 patients with primary PDTC were treated by initial surgery with or without adjuvant therapy at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center from 1986 to 2009. Outcomes were calculated by the Kaplan-Meier method. Clinicopathological characteristics were compared for PDTC patients who died of disease to those who did not by the χ(2) test. Factors predictive of disease-specific survival (DSS) were calculated by univariate and multivariate analysis using the log rank and Cox proportional hazards method, respectively.

Results: With a median follow-up of 50 months, the 5-year overall survival and DSS were 62 and 66%, respectively. The 5-year locoregional and distant control were 81 and 59%, respectively. Of 27 disease-specific deaths, 23 (85%) were due to distant disease. Age ≥ 45 years, pathological tumor size >4 cm, extrathyroidal extension, higher pathological T stage, positive margins, and distant metastases (M1) were predictive of worse DSS on univariate analysis. Multivariate analysis showed that only pT4a stage and M1 were independent predictors of worse DSS.

Conclusions: With appropriate surgery and adjuvant therapy, excellent locoregional control can be achieved in PDTC. Disease-specific deaths occurred due to distant metastases and rarely due to uncontrolled locoregional recurrence in this series.