Adjuvant external beam radiotherapy for locally invasive papillary thyroid cancer

Abstract

Background

The goal of this study was to assess the impact of adjuvant external beam radiotherapy (EBRT) on survival in patients with locally invasive papillary thyroid carcinoma.

Methods

Propensity score analysis was performed on 870 patients with surgically resected T4 papillary thyroid carcinoma, identified in the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Database between 1988 and 2013.

Results

EBRT was associated with worse overall survival (OS) (HR 1.60, 95% CI 1.18‐2.16) and disease‐specific survival (DSS) (HR 1.58, 1.09‐2.30). Subset analysis of patients with major extrathyroidal invasion showed that EBRT was associated with worse OS (HR 1.53, 95% CI 1.04‐2.25), but not with DSS (HR 1.57, 95% CI 0.99‐2.50).

Conclusion

Adjuvant EBRT, in the initial management of locally invasive papillary thyroid cancer, was not associated with a survival benefit. Future studies are needed to determine which subset of patients may benefit from adjuvant EBRT.

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