SURVIVAL OF PATIENTS WITH PULMONARY METASTASES IN DIFFERENTIATED THYROID-CANCER

To clarify the factors affecting survival of the patients with differe ntiated thyroid cancer and pulmonary metastases, 46 patients treated a t our hospital during the past 23 years were studied using statistical analysis. Nineteen patients died as a result of their thyroid cancer. The follow-up period ranged from 1 to 31 years with a median of 10.5 years. Age at primary surgery, interval between primary surgery and ap pearance of pulmonary metastases and RI therapy affected survival from primary surgery and age at pulmonary metastases and RI therapy determ ined survival after pulmonary metastases, as revealed by the Cox propo rtional hazard model. These results suggest that prognostic factor of patients with differentiated thyroid cancer and pulmonary metastases i s the age at initial surgery and at appearance of pulmonary metastases . But RI therapy could change the course of pulmonary metastases of th yroid cancer.