Surgical management of low-/intermediate-risk node negative thyroid cancer: A single-institution study using propensity matching analysis to compare thyroid lobectomy and total thyroidectomy Journal Article


Authors: Matsuura, D.; Yuan, A.; Harries, V.; Shaha, A. R.; Tuttle, R. M.; Patel, S. G.; Shah, J. P.; Ganly, I.
Article Title: Surgical management of low-/intermediate-risk node negative thyroid cancer: A single-institution study using propensity matching analysis to compare thyroid lobectomy and total thyroidectomy
Abstract: Background: The approach for surgical treatment of patients with low-/intermediate-risk T1T2N0/Nx well-differentiated thyroid cancer (WDTC) - total thyroidectomy (TT) versus thyroid lobectomy (TL) - remains a controversial topic. Conducting a randomized controlled trial (RCT) would be the gold standard to address this issue. However, this is challenging due to excellent survival outcomes, and therefore, high number of patients and long-term follow-up would be required. As an alternative to RCT, we have used propensity score (PS) matching to determine if T1T2N0/Nx patients selected to have TL had equivalent outcomes to a similar group treated with TT. Methods: After institutional review board approval, a database of 6259 patients with WDTC treated with primary surgery at our institution between 1985 and 2016 was analyzed to identify patients with T1T2N0/Nx cancers. Of 3756 patients identified, 943 were managed by TL and 2813 by TT. To control for possible confounders and reduce potential bias, we selected age, sex, histology, 131I therapy, American Thyroid Association risk, and American Joint Committee Cancer stage as our PS matching criteria. Subsequently, 918 TL patients were successfully matched with 918 TT patients. The Pearson χ2 test or Fisher's exact test was used to compare categorical covariates, and Student's t-test was used for comparison of continuous variables between the two groups. Disease-specific survival (DSS), overall survival (OS), and recurrence-free survival (RFS) were calculated using the Kaplan-Meier method and compared using the log-rank test. Results: After PS matching, there were no significant differences between TL and TT patients for OS (10-year OS: 92.2% vs. 91.3%, p = 0.9668), DSS (10-year DSS: 100% vs. 99.1%, p = 0.1967), or RFS (10-year RFS: 99.5% vs. 98.3%, p = 0.079). Conclusions: For low-/intermediate-risk patients with intrathyroidal thyroid cancer <4 cm, patients selected for TL have similar survival outcomes to a comparable group treated by TT. © Copyright 2022, Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers 2022.
Keywords: thyroid cancer; lobectomy; intermediate risk; total thyroidectomy; early stage; low risk; propensity matching
Journal Title: Thyroid
Volume: 32
Issue: 1
ISSN: 1050-7256
Publisher: Mary Ann Liebert, Inc  
Date Published: 2022-01-01
Start Page: 28
End Page: 36
Language: English
DOI: 10.1089/thy.2021.0356
PUBMED: 34861772
PROVIDER: scopus
PMCID: PMC8792497
DOI/URL:
Notes: Article -- Export Date: 1 March 2022 -- Source: Scopus; Author Victoria Harries's last name is misspelled in the original publication (TC 2022-03-03).
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MSK Authors
  1. Ashok R Shaha
    697 Shaha
  2. Snehal G Patel
    412 Patel
  3. Robert M Tuttle
    481 Tuttle
  4. Ian Ganly
    430 Ganly
  5. Jatin P Shah
    721 Shah
  6. Victoria Harries
    13 Harries
  7. Avery Yuan
    15 Yuan