title: Is familial non-medullary thyroid carcinoma more aggressive than sporadic thyroid cancer? A multicenter series.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The aggressiveness of familial non-medullary thyroid cancer (FNMTC) has been a subject of debate. The purpose of the study was to determine whether FNMTC is more aggressive than sporadic thyroid cancer.
  
  
  METHODS
  A multicenter retrospective matched-case control study of FNMTC versus sporadic non-medullary thyroid cancer was conducted. Disease-free survival (time to recurrence) for both groups was compared.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Forty-eight familial cases were compared with 144 age-, gender-, and stage-matched controls. Patients with FNMTC had a significantly shorter disease-free survival compared with sporadic non medullary thyroid cancer. Patients with FNMTC who presented with evidence of distant metastasis, or who were from families with more than 2 thyroid cancer-affected members, had the worst prognosis. The available staging systems were less likely to predict the outcome in patients with FNMTC than in patients with sporadic non-medullary thyroid cancer unless one accounted for the strength of family history in the staging system.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  FNMTC is more aggressive than sporadic non-medullary thyroid cancer. The best predictors of a poor outcome in patients with FNMTC are the number of family members affected by thyroid cancer and evidence of distant metastasis.
authors: Department of Surgery, University of California, San Francisco, 94143-1674, USA.
authors: O
authors: O
authors: Alsanea
authors: N
authors: N
authors: Wada
authors: K
authors: K
authors: Ain
authors: M
authors: M
authors: Wong
authors: K
authors: K
authors: Taylor
authors: P H
authors: PH
authors: Ituarte
authors: P A
authors: PA
authors: Treseler
authors: H U
authors: HU
authors: Weier
authors: N
authors: N
authors: Freimer
authors: A E
authors: AE
authors: Siperstein
authors: Q Y
authors: QY
authors: Duh
authors: H
authors: H
authors: Takami
authors: O H
authors: OH
authors: Clark
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013964:Thyroid Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery; D013965:Thyroidectomy; D016896:Treatment Outcome