Table 2.
Clinicopathologic characteristics of 79 enrolled well-differentiated thyroid cancer patients.
| Characteristics | Inoperable n (%) | Initial-DM n (%) | Late-DM n (%) | L-R Group n (%) | p-Value (A vs. B vs. C) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number of patients | 6 (7.6) | 33 (41.8) | 24 (30.4) | 16 (20.3) | ||
| Sex | Female | 6 (100) | 21 (63.6) | 13 (54.2) | 12 (75) | 0.407 |
| Age | <55 | 1 (16.7) | 9 (27.3) | 3 (12.5) | 3 (18.8) | 0.387 |
| 55 or more | 5 (83.3) | 24 (72.7) | 21 (87.5) | 13 (81.3) | ||
| Primary tumor size † | <4 cm | 3 (50) | 24 (72.7) | 21 (87.5) | 11 (68.8) | 0.298 |
| 4 cm or more | 3 (50) | 9 (27.3) | 3 (12.5) | 5 (31.3) | ||
| pT | 1 | - | 5 (15.2) | 3 (12.5) | 1 (6.3) | 0.445 |
| 2 | - | 4 (12.1) | 1 (4.2) | 4 (25.0) | ||
| 3 | - | 15 (45.5) | 9 (37.5) | 6 (37.5) | ||
| 4 | - | 9 (27.3) | 11 (45.8) | 5 (31.3) | ||
| pN | Not assessed | - | 1 (3.0) | 1 (4.2) | 1 (6.3) | 0.918 |
| N0 | - | 15 (45.5) | 9 (37.5) | 8 (50) | ||
| N1a | - | 4 (12.1) | 5 (20.8) | 3 (18.8) | ||
| N1b | - | 13 (39.4) | 9 (37.5) | 4 (25.0) | ||
| Lymphovascular invasion | Yes | - | 14 (42.4) | 3 (12.5) | 2 (12.5) | 0.015 |
| Resection margin | Positive | - | 9 (27.3) | 9 (37.5) | 2 (12.5) | 0.221 |
| Extent to central LN | Yes | - | 14 (42.4) | 11 (45.8) | 6 (37.5) | 0.872 |
| Extent to lateral LN | Yes | - | 13 (39.4) | 9 (37.5) | 4 (25.0) | 0.598 |
| Extent of surgery | Total | - | 31 (93.9) | 23 (95.8) | 14 (87.5) | 0.576 |
| Less than total | - | 2 (6.1) | 1 (4.2) | 2 (12.5) | ||
| EBRT | Yes | 4 (66.7) | 22 (66.7) | 7 (29.2) | 3 (18.8) | 0.001 |
| Cumulative dose of RAI | 0 | 450 (175–815) | 310 (280–707.5) | 100 (25–207.5) | 0.001 * | |
A, initial distant metastasis (DM) group; B, late-DM group; C, loco-regional disease (L-R) group. * The Kruskal–Wallis test was performed with post-hoc analysis using the Mann–Whitney test with Bonferroni correction. A vs. C (p < 0.001); B vs. C (p = 0.001). Categorical variables are shown as number (percentage) and continuous variables are shown as median (interquartile range). n, number of patients; Not assessed, lymph nodes were not assessed during surgery; LN, lymph node; Total, total thyroidectomy; EBRT, external beam radiation therapy; RAI, radioactive iodine. †Primary tumor size in inoperable group was measured by thyroid ultrasound.