Differential Clinicopathological Risk and Prognosis of Major Papillary Thyroid Cancer Variants

J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2016 Jan;101(1):264-74. doi: 10.1210/jc.2015-2917. Epub 2015 Nov 3.

Abstract

Context: Individualized management, incorporating papillary thyroid cancer (PTC) variant-specific risk, is conceivably a useful treatment strategy for PTC, which awaits comprehensive data demonstrating differential risks of PTC variants to support.

Objective: This study sought to establish the differential clinicopathological risk of major PTC variants: conventional PTC (CPTC), follicular-variant PTC (FVPTC), and tall-cell PTC (TCPTC).

Methods: This was a retrospective study of clinicopathological outcomes of 6282 PTC patients (4799 females and 1483 males) from 26 centers and The Cancer Genome Atlas in 14 countries with a median age of 44 years (interquartile range, 33-56 y) and median follow-up time of 37 months (interquartile range, 15-82 mo).

Results: The cohort consisted of 4702 (74.8%) patients with CPTC, 1126 (17.9%) with FVPTC, and 239 (3.8%) with TCPTC. The prevalence of high-risk parameters was significantly different among the three variants, including extrathyroidal invasion, lymph node metastasis, stages III/IV, disease recurrence, mortality, and the use (need) of radioiodine treatment (all P < .001), being highest in TCPTC, lowest in FVPTC, and intermediate in CPTC, following an order of TCPTC > CPTC ≫ FVPTC. Recurrence and mortality in TCPTC, CPTC, and FVPTC were 27.3 and 6.7%, 16.1 and 2.5%, and 9.1 and 0.6%, corresponding to events per 1000 person-years (95% confidence interval [CI]) of 92.47 (64.66-132.26) and 24.61 (12.31-49.21), 34.46 (30.71-38.66), and 5.87 (4.37-7.88), and 24.73 (18.34-33.35) and 1.68 (0.54-5.21), respectively. Mortality hazard ratios of CPTC and TCPTC over FVPTC were 3.44 (95% CI, 1.07-11.11) and 14.96 (95% CI, 3.93-56.89), respectively. Kaplan-Meier survival analyses showed the best prognosis in FVPTC, worst in TCPTC, and intermediate in CPTC in disease recurrence-free probability and disease-specific patient survival. This was particularly the case in patients at least 45 years old.

Conclusion: This large multicenter study demonstrates differential prognostic risks of the three major PTC variants and establishes a unique risk order of TCPTC > CPTC ≫ FVPTC, providing important clinical implications for specific variant-based management of PTC.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Carcinoma / epidemiology
  • Carcinoma / genetics
  • Carcinoma / pathology*
  • Carcinoma, Papillary
  • Cohort Studies
  • Female
  • Follow-Up Studies
  • Gene Frequency
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Neoplasm Metastasis / pathology
  • Neoplasm Recurrence, Local*
  • Prevalence
  • Prognosis
  • Radiotherapy / statistics & numerical data
  • Retrospective Studies
  • Risk Assessment
  • Thyroid Cancer, Papillary
  • Thyroid Neoplasms / epidemiology
  • Thyroid Neoplasms / genetics
  • Thyroid Neoplasms / pathology*