Treatment of differentiated thyroid carcinoma: a survey

Abstract

Introduction: In January 2005, during the annual meeting of the Portuguese Society of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism, a questionnaire on the treatment and follow-up of differentiated thyroid carcinoma (DTC) was given to attendants. The aim of this study was to present the survey's results.

Methods: The questionnaire addressed the following issues: the surgical treatment of the gland and cervical lymph nodes, whole body scan and ablation with (131)I, suppression with levothyroxine, and treatment of recurrence and metastases. Fifty-four completed questionnaires were obtained (79% from clinical endocrinologists).

Results: When DTC is diagnosed, 67% of respondents reported that total thyroidectomy is always performed. When the diagnosis is made postsurgically, completion of thyroidectomy is recommended by 70% of respondents for papillary carcinoma, by 67% for papillary microcarcinoma and by 44% for minimally invasive follicular carcinoma. Most respondents recommend lymph node dissection if the nodes are involved; 61% systematically perform whole body scan with (131)I after surgery. Twenty-eight percent routinely perform ablation of the thyroid, and 59% request adjuvant radioiodine ablation of the thyroid bed if there is (131)I uptake, if thyroglobulin is increased, or if risk factors are present. The most commonly used ablation dose is 100 mCi. Consensus on the degree of TSH suppression is lacking. Twenty-two percent of the respondents recommend surgery as the first therapeutic option in recurrence and metastases, while 57% prefer (131)I for the treatment of local recurrence. When thyroglobulin levels remain high and the results of (131)I scanning are negative, 50% choose computed tomography scan for the diagnosis of disease recurrence.

Conclusions: The wide variability of responses in this survey and the significant percentage (11 to 41%) of non-responders demonstrates the lack of uniformity in the treatment protocols for DCT in Portugal. According to the published guidelines and the responses to a similar survey performed in Spain, the widest differences are mainly found in lymph node dissection and the treatment of disease recurrence.