Extent of surgery for intermediate-risk well-differentiated thyroid cancer

Background: Methods of assigning patients with papillary or follicular thyroid cancer (well-differentiated thyroid cancer) to risk groups for the purpose of determining appropriate therapy have been developed. Despite these efforts, the optimal extent of surgery for intermediate-risk patients remains controversial. Methods: A retrospective study was conducted of 208 patients with well-differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC) from two institutions. Univariate and multivariate analysis of patient- and tumor-related variables was performed. A regression model was obtained, three risk groups (low, intermediate, and high) were defined, and survival curves were generated. Results: Prognostic variables were age (P