Association of patient age with high-risk pathologic features in papillary thyroid cancer

Abstract Background Certain patient demographics and histopathologic features are risk factors for papillary thyroid cancer (PTC) recurrence after initial treatment. Our objective was to determine whether very young age is associated with aggressive pathologic features in patients with PTC. Materials and methods A retrospective analysis was performed for PTC patients who underwent surgical treatment at the University of Michigan between 2006 and 2012. Patients with known distant metastases were excluded. Demographics, high-risk pathologic features (capsular or vascular invasion, extrathyroidal extension, lymph node metastases, and extranodal extension), and disease recurrence were analyzed. Results 632 PTC patients were included in the analysis. Median age was 49 y (range 10-87). Tumors in patients aged