The prevalence of pre-thyroidectomy thyroid function test abnormalities among patients with differentiated thyroid carcinoma: A descriptive study

The present study aims to assess pre-thyroidectomy thyroid hormone disturbances among patients suffering from differentiated thyroid carcinoma (DTC).

This retrospective study was performed from September 2020 to March 2021. We analyzed the hospital files of 710 patients with DTC who underwent thyroidectomy and referred to nuclear medicine department from April 2013 to September 2019. Demographics, TNM stage, pre-surgery thyroid function tests, time-interval to achieve a complete response, recurrence rate, one-year response, final response, and the need for alternative treatment modalities were extracted. Then, we analyzed the potential association of pre-surgery TSH levels with the initial disease stage and treatment response. Chi-Square, Analysis-of-variance, and Kruskal-Wallis tests were used where appropriate.

The mean age of participants was 40.39 ± 13.85 years. History of Hashimoto's disease was detected in 130 (18.3%) patients. Multi-focal DTC was found in 221 (31.2%) patients. Lymph node involvement was significantly higher among men (p = 0.001). Men also had significantly higher thyroglobulin levels (p = 0.025). No statistically significant association was found between pre-surgery thyroid function status and TNM stage or multifocality of the malignancy. Baseline thyroid function tests also did not show a statistically significant relationship with thyroglobulin, anti-thyroglobulin antibody, time to first excellent response, and follow-up duration.

Baseline thyroid function status may not change the outcome of DTC. It could also be plausible that thyroid dysfunction before surgery would not increase invasiveness nor impact the treatment-response of the tumor compared to euthyroid patients.