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Most patients with differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC) have a favorable prognosis. However, patients with DTC and initial distant metastasis have not been commonly found, and their clinical characteristics have seldom been reported. In this study, we analyzed the clinical features and prognosis of patients with DTC and initial distant metastasis in Korea.
We retrospectively reviewed the clinical data of 242 patients with DTC and initial distant metastasis treated from 1994 to 2013, collected from five tertiary hospitals in Korea.
The patients' median age was 51 years, and 65% were women. They were followed for a median of 7 years. Lung was the most common site of distant metastasis: only lung 149 patients (62%), only bone 49 (20%), other single site one (pleura), and combined sites 43 (40 were lung and bone, two were bone and other site, and one was lung and other site). At the time of diagnosis, 50 patients (21%) had non-radioactive iodine (RAI) avidity. Five-year disease-specific survival (DSS) was 85% and 10-year DSS was 68%, which were better than those in previous studies. After multivariate analysis, old age, male sex, metastatic site, and histologic type (follicular type) were significant factors for poor prognosis. However, negative RAI avidity status was not a significant prognostic factor after adjusting for other variables.
The prognosis of Korean patients with DTC and initial distant metastasis was better than in previous studies. Old age, male sex, metastasis site, and histologic type were significant prognostic factors.
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Previous studies have suggested that recombinant human thyroid stimulating hormone (rhTSH) stimulation is an acceptable alternative to thyroid hormone withdrawal (THW) when radioiodine remnant ablation is planned for thyroid cancer treatment, based on superior short-term quality of life with non-inferior remnant ablation efficacy. This study evaluated the cost-effectiveness of radioiodine remnant ablation using rhTSH, compared with the traditional preparation method which renders patients hypothyroid by THW, in Korean perspective.
This economic evaluation considered the costs and benefits to the Korean public healthcare system. Clinical experts were surveyed regarding the current practice of radioiodine ablation in Korea and their responses helped inform assumptions used in a cost effectiveness model. Markov modelling with 17 weekly cycles was used to assess the incremental costs per quality-adjusted life year (QALY) associated with rhTSH. Clinical inputs were based on a multi-center, randomized controlled trial comparing remnant ablation success after rhTSH preparation with THW. The additional costs associated with rhTSH were considered relative to the clinical benefits and cost offsets.
The additional benefits of rhTSH (0.036 QALY) are achieved with an additional cost of Korean won ₩961,105, equating to cost per QALY of ₩26,697,361. Sensitivity analyses had only a modest impact upon cost-effectiveness, with one-way sensitivity results of approximately ₩33,000,000/QALY.
The use of rhTSH is a cost-effective alternative to endogenous hypothyroid stimulation prior to radioiodine ablation for patients who have undergone thyroidectomy in Korea.
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There are limited data about whether patients who receive initial treatment for differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC) gain or lose weight during long-term follow-up under thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) suppression. This study was aimed to evaluate whether DTC patients under TSH suppression experience long-term weight gain after initial treatment. We also examined the impact of the radioactive iodine ablation therapy (RAIT) preparation method on changes of weight, comparing thyroid hormone withdrawal (THW) and recombinant human TSH (rhTSH).
We retrospectively reviewed 700 DTC patients who underwent a total thyroidectomy followed by either RAIT and levothyroxine (T4) replacement or T4 replacement alone. The control group included 350 age-matched patients with benign thyroid nodules followed during same period. Anthropometric data were measured at baseline, 1 to 2 years, and 3 to 4 years after thyroidectomy. Comparisons were made between weight and body mass index (BMI) at baseline and follow-up.
Significant gains in weight and BMI were observed 3 to 4 years after initial treatment for female DTC but not in male patients. These gains among female DTC patients were also significant compared to age-matched control. Women in the THW group gained a significant amount of weight and BMI compared to baseline, while there was no increase in weight or BMI in the rhTSH group. There were no changes in weight and BMI in men according to RAIT preparation methods.
Female DTC patients showed significant gains in weight and BMI during long-term follow-up after initial treatment. These changes were seen only in patients who underwent THW for RAIT.
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Primary hypophysitis causes varying degrees of endocrine dysfunction and mass effect. The natural course and best treatment have not been well established.
Medical records of 22 patients who had been diagnosed with primary hypophysitis between January 2001 and March 2013 were retrospectively reviewed. Based on the anatomical location, we classified the cases as adenohypophysitis (AH), infundibuloneurohypophysitis (INH), and panhypophysitis (PH). Clinical presentation, endocrine function, pathologic findings, magnetic resonance imaging findings, and treatment courses were reviewed.
Among 22 patients with primary hypophysitis, 81.8% (18/22) had involvement of the posterior pituitary lobe. Two patients of the AH (2/3, 66.6%) and three patients of the PH (3/10, 30%) groups initially underwent surgical mass reduction. Five patients, including three of the PH (3/10, 33.3%) group and one from each of the AH (1/3, 33.3%) and INH (1/9, 11.1%) groups, initially received high-dose glucocorticoid treatment. Nearly all of the patients treated with surgery or high-dose steroid treatment (9/11, 82%) required continuous hormone replacement during the follow-up period. Twelve patients received no treatment for mass reduction due to the absence of acute symptoms and signs related to a compressive mass effect. Most of them (11/12, 92%) did not show disease progression, and three patients recovered partially from hormone deficiency.
Deficits of the posterior pituitary were the most common features in our cases of primary hypophysitis. Pituitary endocrine defects responded less favorably to glucocorticoid treatment and surgery. In the absence of symptoms related to mass effect and with the mild defect of endocrine function, it may not require treatment to reduce mass except hormone replacement.
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We report the case of a 36-year-old woman who presented with headache, fever, and amenorrhea. Laboratory analysis revealed hypopituitarism and autoimmune thyroiditis, while a cerebrospinal fluid study suggested concurrent aseptic meningitis. A magnetic resonance image (MRI) scan revealed a 1.0×0.9 cm cystic mass enlarging the sella turcica. Surgical resection via an endoscopic transsphenoidal route was performed. The histological finding of the excised tissue revealed foamy histiocytes with vacuolated cytoplasm, supporting the diagnosis of xanthomatous hypophysitis. Although a residual soft lesion was observed on the MRI image postoperatively, the patient's headache and fever improved. Ten months after surgery, the patient complained of visual impairment and headache, and the residual mass had enlarged into the suprasellar area. High dose (500 mg intravenous) methylprednisolone was administered for 3 days. During the methylprednisolone pulse therapy, the patient's visual acuity and headache improved. A follow-up MRI taken after methylprednisolone therapy showed a marked mass reduction. Our case supports an autoimmune pathophysiology for xanthomatous hypophysitis and suggests that high dose glucocorticoid therapy as a treatment option.
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