Impact of the 8th Edition of the AJCC-TNM Staging System on Estimated Cancer-Specific Survival in Patients Aged 45–54 Years at Diagnosis with Differentiated Thyroid Carcinoma: A Single Center Report

Background. The 8th edition of the American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) staging system changed the age cutoff for risk stratification of differentiated thyroid carcinoma (DTC), downgrading patients between 45 and 54 years to stage I or II. The aim of our study was to assess cancer-specific survival (CSS) in patients aged 45–54 years, in order to document the prognostic capability of the last edition of the staging system. Methods. We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 172 patients that from January 1st, 2005, to May 31st, 2017, were diagnosed at our institution with DTC when aged 45–54 years. We restaged patients according to the 8th edition of the staging system and estimated CSS. Results. 101 out of 172 patients (58.7%) were reallocated to a lower stage. Of the 101 downstaged patients, 88 (88.9%) showed a high or intermediate American Thyroid Association (ATA) risk of recurrence. We recorded no cancer-specific deaths. Conclusions. Risk of cancer-specific mortality in patients aged 45–54 years with DTC is low, supporting the prognostic capability of the 8th edition of the staging system. However, we recommend to consider carefully the significant proportion of patients at intermediate or high risk of recurrence in this group of patients.