Treatment and prognosis for patients with differentiated thyroid carcinoma bone metastases

Differentiated thyroid carcinoma (DTC) accounts for approximately 85–90% of all thyroid cancers (1,2). DTC patients usually have good prognosis with a 10-year survival rate over 85–90% if appropriate treatment is given (3); however, a few DTC patients will suffer from recurrence and metastatic disease. Bone is the second most-common site of distant metastasis for thyroid cancer after the lung (3,4). 131I therapy is effective for most DTC patients with lung metastases, and these patients can survive for a long time after 131I treatment. Nevertheless, DTC bone metastases (BM) can cause serious complications, with the survival rate and the quality of life decreasing significantly (3,5-7). Moreover, there is currently no standardized therapeutic regimen for patients with DTC BM. In particular, there is controversy regarding the efficacy of 131I therapy, local external beam radiotherapy (EBRT) and local surgery for BM lesions. In order to explore the effective treatment models for patients with DTC BM and their prognostic factors, the clinicopathological characteristics, treatment and follow-up data of all patients with DTC BM who received treatment in the Third Affiliated Hospital of Kunming Medical University between November 1, 1993 and December 31, 2016 were analyzed retrospectively