Table 1.

Summary of New Potential Prognostic Markers in DTC Risk Stratification.

Prognostic Variable	Previous/Current Assumptions	Current Challenges	Research Direction
Age	<45 years versus ≥45 years	Continuum versus an older cutoff age	Need to re-evaluate age in DTC staging
Gender	No difference between male and female	Difference in subgroups, i.e. age>55	Re-evaluate impact of gender on DTC prognosis; what is the etiology of the differences?
Lymph Node Involvement	Prognostic role if age ≥45 years	Unclear whether it is a prognostic factor	Does lymph node resection improve outcome in DTC patients?
TSH	Not a prognostic factor	Higher TSH is associated with more advanced disease	Is TSH important at the population level / should it be included in the staging system?
Molecular Markers	Not studied	BRAF, RAS, RET/PTC, PAX8/PPARγ are associated with worse prognosis	Can these molecular markers be used to determine extent of surgery and/or need for radioactive iodine treatment?