Health-related quality-of-life assessment in surgical patients with papillary thyroid carcinoma

Abstract

Even with a favorable prognosis, the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) of papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) patients remains unclear and conflicting. Thus, in the present study, we compared the HRQoL of PTC patients with that of the general population (GP).The study was performed in our thyroid and parathyroid surgery department, and 186 PTC patients who had undergone thyroidectomy were included. The exclusion criteria were an age < 18 years, no follow-up, and the presence of other malignant neoplasms. The control group included 186 volunteers who were matched by age, gender, and socioeconomic status. The survivor and control groups were asked to complete the Chinese version of the SF-36 questionnaire.The 186 volunteers from the GP were well matched to PTC patients with respect to the baseline demographic characteristics. PTC patients showed significantly lower scores than those of the control group in 7 domains of the HRQoL: role-physical (RP), bodily pain (BP), general health (GH), vitality (VT), social functioning (SF), role-emotional (RE), and mental health (MH). PTC was a risk factor for a low Physical Component Summary (PCS) score and a low Mental Component Summary (MCS) score (all P values were less than .05). Significant reductions in the scores of all 8 domains were observed at 1 month after the operation, and obvious recovery was noted at 6 months according to the PCS and MCS scores (all P values were less than .05). However, even 2 years after surgery, few domain scores had recovered to levels found in the GP, including the PCS and MCS scores (all P values were less than .05).Due to the decreased preoperative and postoperative HRQoL scores, much attention should be given to and more long-term observation should be performed for PTC patients, even those who have undergone surgery.

Anxiety and Fear of Recurrence Despite a Good Prognosis: An Interview Study with Differentiated Thyroid Cancer Patients

“…In one study, HRQoL is measured both preoperatively and during two years of follow-up. Although HRQoL increases during follow-up, it does not reach the same level as the general population 179 . In another study HRQoL is measured pre-operatively and during a one-year follow-up, and according to these results HRQoL return to baseline values 180 .…”

Longitudinal analysis of quality of life in patients treated for differentiated thyroid cancer

“…Lubitz et al showed a temporary decrease of QoL after initial therapy, but after 6 months QoL was comparable to baseline (21); it must be noted that only half of their population received RAI therapy, and the majority of these patients received RAI therapy after preparation with rhTSH. Gou et al (17) and Ryu et al (19) showed a decreased QoL after initial therapy which thereafter increased again, but was still below baseline at the end of follow-up. Ryu et al had a follow-up of just 12 months so nothing was known about QoL evolution thereafter (19), while Gou et al followed during 24 months thyroid cancer patients who did not received RAI therapy (17).…”

“…Main drawback of the aforementioned cross-sectional studies is that no conclusions can be drawn about QoL evolution over time. Therefore, more recently several longitudinal studies were conducted (16,17,19,20,21). Their results were mixed as some showed increasing QoL (16,20), and others showed decreasing QoL over time (17,19).…”

“…Therefore, more recently several longitudinal studies were conducted (16,17,19,20,21). Their results were mixed as some showed increasing QoL (16,20), and others showed decreasing QoL over time (17,19). However, these longitudinal studies had one or more limitations such as relative short follow-up with a maximum of 2 years (19,20,21) or lack of knowledge about QoL before initial surgery (16,20).…”

Progress in Research on 5-HTTLPR under Stress and Thyroid Papillary Carcinoma

“…A meta-analysis performed by Gressier et al showed that the SS genotype was associated with post-traumatic stress disorder in subjects exposed to severe trauma [47]. The mortality caused by PTC is low, patients must observe after surgery to prevent any recurrence, and long-term tightness may lead to psychological problems [48]. An important finding of our study was that the 5-HTTLPR SS genotype was associated with PTSD and led to poor clinical outcomes and results in patients with PTC.…”