title: Is age associated with risk of malignancy in thyroid cancer?
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Many predictive models for risk of malignancy in well-differentiated thyroid cancer (WDTC) have been proposed, and many scoring systems for thyroid cancer prognosis have been established. Age is taken in consideration in all. Our main goal is to establish whether patients' age has a correlation with the rate of malignancy, size, and aggressiveness of the tumor.
  
  
  METHODS
  Case series with chart review.
  
  
  METHODS
  McGill University Thyroid Teaching Hospitals.
  
  
  METHODS
  A retrospective analysis of 1022 patients undergoing consecutive thyroidectomy was performed. The patients were divided based on age (<45 and ≥ 45 years). Data were gathered for the size of thyroid nodules, the presence of lymph node (LN) metastasis, and the final thyroid pathology, including the presence of extrathyroidal extension.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There were 396 patients younger than 45 years and 626 patients 45 years or older. The rates of malignancy were 67.2% in the first group and 68.7% in the second group (P = .111). When patients were stratified according to different age cutoffs, WDTC and LN metastasis occurred more often in patients younger than 50 years (50.2% vs 43.2%, P = .031 and 18.9% vs 14.1%, P = .0496, respectively). Micropapillary carcinoma occurred more often in patients 50 years or older (23.6% vs 16.1%, P = .0035).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Tumor behavior and rates of WDTC were similar in patients aged <45 and ≥ 45 years. Well-differentiated thyroid cancer occurred more often in patients younger than 50 years, whereas the rate of micropapillary carcinoma occurred more often in patients 50 years or older.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Medicine, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada bao.do@mail.mcgill.ca.
authors.forename: Bao Anh
authors.initials: BA
authors.lastname: Do
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology, Sir Mortimer B. Davis Jewish General Hospital, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
authors.forename: Richard J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Payne
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Medicine, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
authors.forename: Mark
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bastianelli
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology, Sir Mortimer B. Davis Jewish General Hospital, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
authors.forename: Alex M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Mlynarek
authors.affiliation: Division of Endocrinology, Jewish General Hospital, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tamilia
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology, Sir Mortimer B. Davis Jewish General Hospital, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hier
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology, Sir Mortimer B. Davis Jewish General Hospital, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
authors.forename: Veronique-Isabelle
authors.initials: VI
authors.lastname: Forest
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008207:Lymphatic Metastasis; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D013964:Thyroid Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000473:pathology*; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: age; micropapillary carcinoma; thyroid cancer; well-differentiated thyroid carcinoma