Retrospective analysis of 140 cases of medullary thyroid carcinoma followed‑up in a single institution

  • Authors:
    • Joana Simões‑Pereira
    • Maria João Bugalho
    • Edward Limbert
    • Valeriano Leite
  • View Affiliations

  • Published online on: April 20, 2016     https://doi.org/10.3892/ol.2016.4482
  • Pages: 3870-3874
Metrics: Total Views: 0 (Spandidos Publications: | PMC Statistics: )
Total PDF Downloads: 0 (Spandidos Publications: | PMC Statistics: )


Abstract

Familial cases of medullary thyroid carcinoma (MTC) may be diagnosed by genetic screening, while in sporadic tumors the diagnosis relies mainly on fine‑needle aspiration cytology. The aim of the present study was to determine the demographic, clinical and pathological characteristics of MTC patients followed‑up at the Portuguese Institute of Oncology Francisco Gentil (Lisbon, Portugal). For that purpose, a retrospective analysis of 140 MTC patients diagnosed between 1990 and 2010 was performed. The results indicated that patients with hereditary MTC (11.4%) were significantly younger than patients with sporadic MTC. Of the latter, 34.3% had no clinical suspicion of MTC prior to surgery. The sensitivity of cytology and calcitonin (CT) assay in diagnosing MTC were 51.3 and 98.7%, respectively. All familial index cases and 69.0% of sporadic cases presented with advanced stage disease at the time of diagnosis, while 73.0% of familial MTC detected by genetic/pentagastrin screening were diagnosed at the early stage of the disease. Biochemical cure (BC) was achieved in 39.7% of patients and, of these, only 6.5% relapsed. The 5 and 10‑year survival rates were 79.3 and 73.6%, respectively. Age >45 years (P=0.026), advanced stage at diagnosis (P<0.001) and absence of BC (P<0.001) were predictors of a worse prognosis on univariate analysis. However, when the patients detected by genetic/pentagastrin screening were excluded from the analysis, age was no longer a prognostic factor, although disease stage remained a significant prognostic factor. On multivariate analysis, BC was the only factor with a significant impact on prognosis (P=0.031). In addition, the present study confirmed that the majority of patients were diagnosed at advanced stages, and CT determination was observed to be more sensitive than cytology to diagnose MTC. Patients at early stages were more prone to achieve BC, which was a favorable prognostic factor. To the best of our knowledge, the present study reports for the first time that age at diagnosis is not a predictor of survival for patients with MTC when cases diagnosed by genetic/pentagastrin screening (who are usually young patients at the initial stages of the disease), are excluded from the analysis.
View Figures
View References

Related Articles

Journal Cover

June-2016
Volume 11 Issue 6

Print ISSN: 1792-1074
Online ISSN:1792-1082

Sign up for eToc alerts

Recommend to Library

Copy and paste a formatted citation
x
Spandidos Publications style
Simões‑Pereira J, Bugalho MJ, Limbert E and Leite V: Retrospective analysis of 140 cases of medullary thyroid carcinoma followed‑up in a single institution. Oncol Lett 11: 3870-3874, 2016
APA
Simões‑Pereira, J., Bugalho, M.J., Limbert, E., & Leite, V. (2016). Retrospective analysis of 140 cases of medullary thyroid carcinoma followed‑up in a single institution. Oncology Letters, 11, 3870-3874. https://doi.org/10.3892/ol.2016.4482
MLA
Simões‑Pereira, J., Bugalho, M. J., Limbert, E., Leite, V."Retrospective analysis of 140 cases of medullary thyroid carcinoma followed‑up in a single institution". Oncology Letters 11.6 (2016): 3870-3874.
Chicago
Simões‑Pereira, J., Bugalho, M. J., Limbert, E., Leite, V."Retrospective analysis of 140 cases of medullary thyroid carcinoma followed‑up in a single institution". Oncology Letters 11, no. 6 (2016): 3870-3874. https://doi.org/10.3892/ol.2016.4482