Low-risk differentiated thyroid cancer patients in the U. S. experience lower rates of mortality

A new study has shown that overall and cause-specific mortality rates in individuals in the U.S. with low-risk differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC) are low. The study is published in the peer-reviewed journal Thyroid^®, the official journal of the American Thyroid Association^® (ATA^®). 

Cari Kitahara, PhD, from the National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, and coauthors identified 51,854 individuals diagnosed with first primary DTC at low risk of recurrence and compared observed mortality rates in DTC patients with expected rates in the matched U.S. general population. Thyroid cancer accounted for only 4.3% of deaths. The most common causes of death were malignancies (other than thyroid cancer) and cardiovascular disease.

"In brief, we observed that these patients experienced lower rates of mortality overall and from most other causes compared with the general population, consistent with previous studies," stated the investigators. "Our study is unique, in that it was restricted to survivors of low-risk DTC and included all ages at diagnosis, a longer duration of follow-up compared with previous studies, and a comprehensive investigation of specific causes of death."