Thyroid cancer. Survival in 148 cases followed for 10 years or more.

One hundred forty-eight patients with differentiated carcinoma of the thyroid treated between May 1954 and April 1973 are presented. There were 89 papillary and 59 follicular carcinomas. They were classified according to Woolner criteria. Treatment consisted of surgery I-131 and thyroid hormone. Recurrences occurred in 8.7% of the patients, and lethality at the end of the observation period was 3.3%. The impact of histologic type, extent of the primary, and age of the patient at the time of treatment on prognosis were studied. The data were submitted to statistical analysis. This study revealed that these factors are determinant on prognosis. Best survival rates were observed in patients 40 years of age or younger at the time of treatment, in patients with intrathyroid papillary carcinomas, and in patients with noninvasive follicular carcinomas.