ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Medullary thyroid cancer (MTC) is a rare thyroid cancer accounting for 5 % of all thyroid malignancies. The purpose of our study was to design a predictive nomogram for cancer-specific mortality (CSM) utilizing clinical, pathological, and biochemical variables in patients with MTC. METHODS: MTC patients managed entirely at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center between 1986 and 2010 were identified. Patient, tumor, and treatment characteristics were recorded, and variables predictive of CSM were identified by univariable analyses. A multivariable competing risk model was then built to predict the 10-year cancer specific mortality of MTC. All predictors of interest were added in the starting full model before selection, including age, gender, pre- and postoperative serum calcitonin, pre- and postoperative CEA, RET mutation status, perivascular invasion, margin status, pathologic T status, pathologic N status, and M status. Stepdown method was used in model selection to choose predictive variables. RESULTS: Of 249 MTC patients, 22.5 % (56/249) died from MTC, whereas 6.4 % (16/249) died secondary to other causes. Mean follow-up period was 87 ± 67 months. The seven variables with the highest predictive accuracy for cancer specific mortality included age, gender, postoperative calcitonin, perivascular invasion, pathologic T status, pathologic N status, and M status. These variables were used to create the final nomogram. Discrimination from the final nomogram was measured at 0.77 with appropriate calibration. CONCLUSIONS: We describe the first nomogram that estimates cause-specific mortality in individual patients with MTC. This predictive nomogram will facilitate patient counseling in terms of prognosis and subsequent clinical follow up.
Subject(s)
Carcinoma, Neuroendocrine/mortality , Nomograms , Thyroid Neoplasms/mortality , Adult , Age Factors , Aged , Blood Vessels/pathology , Calcitonin/blood , Carcinoma, Neuroendocrine/pathology , Carcinoma, Neuroendocrine/surgery , Female , Follow-Up Studies , Humans , Lymphatic Metastasis , Male , Middle Aged , Multivariate Analysis , Neoplasm Invasiveness , Neoplasm Staging , Postoperative Period , Predictive Value of Tests , Sex Factors , Survival Rate , Thyroid Neoplasms/pathology , Thyroid Neoplasms/surgeryABSTRACT
The hormonal interactions among the systems throughout the body are not fully understood; many vague clinical symptoms may in fact be manifestations of underlying endocrine diseases. The aim of the following review is to discuss gastrointestinal manifestations of surgically correctable endocrine diseases, focusing on abnormalities of thyroid function, cancer and finally autoimmune diseases. We also review manifestations of pancreatic endocrine tumors, and multiple endocrine neoplasia.
