In 2015, the American Thyroid Association (ATA) “stratified” the risk of recurrence for patients with thyroid cancer after surgery, suggesting that patients with the following factors are at higher risk of recurrence and should follow their doctor’s orders for regular review and pay close attention to their health The following factors are associated with a higher risk of recurrence.
- Tumor invasion of the soft tissue surrounding the thyroid visible to the naked eye
- The tumor was not completely removed
- Distant metastases were present
- A regional lymph node metastasis with a maximum metastatic lymph node diameter greater than 3 cm
- The physician determined that postoperative serum thyroglobulin (Tg) levels were abnormally high, a protein component synthesized by the thyroid gland and secreted into the blood, and that blood Tg concentrations reflect the total number, function, and damage of thyroid cells
- Extensive vascular infiltration of follicular thyroid cancer (>4 lesions with vascular invasion)
Co-written by Dr. Jiaying Chen, Cancer Hospital, Fudan University