Total Thyroidectomy Versus Lobectomy for the Treatment of Follicular Thyroid Microcarcinoma

Abstract

Aim: To compare the effectiveness of total thyroidectomy versus thyroid lobectomy for the treatment of follicular thyroid microcarcinoma.

Patients and methods: Data were extracted from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results 18 Database. The study cohort included patients diagnosed with follicular thyroid microcarcinoma between 1988 and 2009, treated with either total thyroidectomy or thyroid lobectomy. Propensity-score analysis using inverse probability weighting was used to control for allocation bias.

Results: A total of 203 patients were identified. The 5-year overall survival was 98% for patients treated with lobectomy and 99% for those treated with total thyroidectomy; this difference was not statistically significant (p=0.13). Unadjusted analysis and propensity-score analysis revealed no difference in overall survival between the two treatment groups (p=0.15 and p=0.49, respectively).

Conclusion: Total thyroidectomy does not appear to offer any survival advantage over thyroid lobectomy for patients with follicular thyroid microcarcinoma.

Keywords: SEER database; comparative effectiveness; microcarcinoma; propensity score; thyroid cancer; thyroidectomy.