(b)
| TN status a, n | AJCC/UICC stagea | rhTSH group (n = 18) | THW group (n = 27) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Age < 45 years | |||
|
| |||
| T3N0 | I | 2 | 3 |
| T3Nx | I | 0 | 2 |
| T3N1a | I | 2 | 2 |
| T3N1b | I | 0 | 4 |
| T4aN0 | I | 0 | 4 |
| T4bN1a | I | 0 | 1 |
| T4bN1b | I | 0 | 1 |
|
| |||
| Age ≥ 45 years | |||
|
| |||
| T3N0 | III | 7 | 4 |
| T3Nx | III | 0 | 2 |
| T3N1a | III | 2 | 3 |
| T4aN0 | IVa | 0 | 1 |
| T4bN0 | IVb | 3 | 0 |
| T4bN1a | IVa | 1 | 0 |
| T4bN1b | IVa | 1 | 0 |
AJCC: American Joint Committee on Cancer; DTC: differentiated thyroid carcinoma; rhTSH: recombinant human thyroid-stimulating hormone; UICC: Union Internationale Contre le Cancer; THW: thyroid hormone withdrawal or withholding.
aAccording to AJCC/UICC classification, 6th edition of 2002 [32]; all patients had M0 staging confirmed by the postablation whole-body scan.