Comparative Analysis About Clinical Manifestation and Prognostic Factors of Thyroid Follicular and Hurthle Cell Carcinoma

Abstract

Background and Objectives Follicular thyroid carcinoma (FTC) is the second common thyroid cancer which comprises about 10% of differentiated thyroid carcinoma. Hurthle cell carcinoma (HCC) is a relatively rare disease that has been classified as a subtype of FTC. However, there have been insufficient reports about these two similar thyroid cancers in South Korea due to low incidences. This study aims to present clinical features and evaluate prognostic factors of FTC and HCC.Subjects and Method We reviewed data of 189 FTC and 12 HCC patients who underwent surgery in our center from January 2000 to December 2020. Variables such as clinical characteristics, surgical method, pathologic result, post-operative treatment, survival rate and prognostic factors were included in our study.Results As for age, 67.2% of patients in FTC group and 33.3% of patients in HCC group were older than 55 years-old (<i>p</i>=0.017). The average tumor sizes of FTC and HCC were 2.98 and 3.1 cm, respectively. The 10-year overall survival rates of FTC and HCC were 96.5% and 100%, respectively. The 10-year disease free survival rates of FTC and HCC were 89.1% and 91.7%, respectively. Subclassification (widely invasive: <i>p</i>=0.036) and initial distant metastasis (<i>p</i><0.001) were significant prognostic factors in FTC.Conclusion This study will be helpful for diagnosis and treatment of FTC and HCC, which are relatively rare.