Late results of surgical treatment of differentiated thyroid cancer

: Retrospective analysis of 94 patients who were operated on in the clinic in 1981-1987 for differentiated carcinoma of the thyroid was conducted with the use of the classification of the disease formulated by the American United Cancer Committee and the Committee TNM of the International Anticancer Union which takes into account the patients's age. According to the new system of stages, 34 patients under 45 years of age with any indices of T, N, and MO, and 14 patients over 45 years of age with indices Tl, NO, and MO were related to stage I. The postoperative follow-up period ranges from 4 to 9.5 years. During that time, metastases to the regional lymph nodes developed in 9 (9.5%) patients, remote metastases in one (1.1%) patient, and local recurrence of the tumor was diagnosed in 14 (14.5%) patients, with the tumor recurring in most or them 5 years after the operation. Six (6.4%) patients died from carcinoma. The work appraises the prognostic significance of dividing the patients according to stages from the standpoint of the tendency to recur and metastasize, and the carcinoma mortality rate. It is shown that patients who underwent operation for thyroid carcinoma must be kept under observation for a long time.