Papillary thyroid carcinoma: clinical manifestations, recurrences and prognosis

Papillary carcinoma was detected in 2512 cases out of 3048 patients with differentiated thyroid carcinoma who underwent surgery during a 61-year period at the Mayo Clinic. The clinical picture of papillary carcinoma was shown to be interrelated with the appearance of recurrences, metastases and with prognosis for life. Lethality and survival were estimated within 5, 10, 20, 30 and 40 years depending on the stage of the disease that allowed a separation and comparison of groups of low and high risk in connection with the further prognosis. Median follow-up was 14 +/- 0.9 years and the longest follow-up was 60 years. It was shown that if the tumor was confined to the neck and the tumor was grossly resected the survival rate did not differ from the level predicted by an actuarial curve, and the appearance of metastases in regional lymph nodes represented no real threat in low-risk patients.