Quality of life in patients with differentiated thyroid cancer

General Medicine, 2023, 25(6), 53-59.

I. Dimitrova, A. Shinkov, M. Stoynova, I. Yankova, R. Ivanova, R. Kovatcheva

Department of Endocrinology, Medical University ‒ Sofia

Abstract. Differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC) includes papillary (PTC), follicular and Hürthle-cell carcinomas. They develop from thyroid follicular epithelium. Thyroid cancer (TC) is found in approximately 5% of thyroid nodules and the most common type is PTC – over 90%. The number of DTC survivors has increased worldwide due to the rising incidence of the disease. Quality of life (QoL) in DTC survivors is a very relevant topic because the disease is mainly diagnosed during the peak earning years (30-50 years of age) and has high 10-year survival rate. Few studies on this topic have been published in recent years, applying different QoL questionnaires (general and specific). The majority of researches demonstrated that DTC had negative impact on QoL despite the good disease prognosis. Moreover, some studies reported similar or worse QoL in patients with DTC compared to patients treated for other malignancies, with poorer prognosis and more aggressive treatment. It can be speculated that DTC patients have needs that are underestimated by medical professionals. More studies in the field are needed in order to develop precise postoperative care plans for DTC patients.

Key words: differentiated thyroid cancer, quality of life, questionnaires

Address for correspondence: Inna Dimitrova, MD, PhD, e-mail: innadimitrova90@gmail.com