Risk factors associated with recurrence of papillary thyroid carcinoma

Abstract

Introduction: The papillary thyroid cancer has good survival rate, however, 30% of the patients will have a recurrence. Prognostic factors have been described such as size, histopathology, surgical procedure and administration of radioactive iodine. Aim: To determine preventable risk factors for long-term recurrence. Material and method: This is a retrospective and observational study, patients un- dergoing surgery for CPT and 10 year follow up were included to analyze clinical and biochemical variables related to long-term recurrence. Results: Ninety-one patients with a 10-year follow-up were identified. No relations- hip was found for recurrence with oncological family history, previous thyroid disease, but smoking was a risk factor (p 0.040). We found 27 (29%) with relapse, in relation to lesions > 3 cm (p 0.05), and multicentric PTC (p 0.003). Conclusion: The long evolution time favors the growth of lesions, the spread of the disease, as well as the recurrence. The CPT is a disease with long-term metastatic capacity; it requires close monitoring and opportune detection of patients susceptible to recurrence. The time between diagnosis and surgery is a fundamental factor for the growth of the lesions and the spread of the disease, so the waiting time must be re- duced, thus avoiding larger lesions, malignant cell dissemination and recurrence with worse prognosis for patients.