Prognostic factors in medullary thyroid carcinoma: evaluation of 741 patients from the German Medullary Thyroid Carcinoma Register
- 1 January 1993
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Springer Science and Business Media LLC in The Clinical Investigator
- Vol. 71 (1), 7-12
- https://doi.org/10.1007/bf00210956
Abstract
A retrospective study of 741 patients with medullary thyroid carcinoma diagnosed between 1967 and 1991 was carried out by members of the German Medullary Thyroid Carcinoma Study Group to evaluate prognostic factors. A total of 559 patients (75%) were considered to have sporadic disease, and 182 (25%) had the familial type. The sex ratio (male to female) was 1:1.4 in sporadic disease patients, and the mean age at diagnosis was 45.9 years (range 5-81 years). For familial disease patients the sex ratio was 1:1.1, and the mean age at diagnosis was 33.4 (range 5–77 years). The follow-up time for 630 patients ranged from 1 month to 20.8 years (mean 13.0 years). The overall adjusted survival rate was 86.7% at 5 years and 64.2% at 10 years. In a univariate analysis the stage of disease at diagnosis, age, sex, and type of disease (sporadic, familial) were relevant prognostic factors, with a better prognosis for young female patients with familial disease and diagnosed at an early stage. In a multivariate proportional hazards analysis, the difference in the survival rate of patients with familial disease versus those with the sporadic form disappeared, while prognostic information provided by age and sex was still significant. The poorer prognosis of patients with sporadic medullary thyroid carcinoma may be related to the patients' older age at detection and more advanced tumor stage at diagnosis. There seems to be no difference in biological behavior between tumors of the sporadic and those of the familial type.Keywords
This publication has 27 references indexed in Scilit:
- Familial medullary thyroid carcinoma without associated endocrinopathies: A distinct clinical entityBritish Journal of Surgery, 1986
- Importance of early diagnosis and follow-up in multiple endocrine neoplasia (MEN II B)European Journal of Pediatrics, 1984
- Medullary Carcinoma of the ThyroidMedicine, 1984
- Medullary thyroid carcinoma: Prognostic factors and treatmentInternational Journal of Radiation Oncology*Biology*Physics, 1983
- Management of medullary carcinoma of the thyroidThe American Journal of Surgery, 1982
- Nonfamilial medullary thyroid carcinomaThe American Journal of Surgery, 1980
- Medullary carcinoma of the thyroid glandCancer, 1975
- MEDULLARY (SOLID) CARCINOMA OF THE THYROID GLANDMedicine, 1973
- Medullary (Solid) Carcinoma of the Thyroid GlandArchives of Surgery, 1970
- Classification and prognosis of thyroid carcinoma: A study of 885 cases observed in a thirty year periodThe American Journal of Surgery, 1961