Papillary thyroid carcinoma in Denmark 1943-68. II. Treatment and survival

A comparison of the present non-selected, nation-wide material with series from hospitals abroad indicates that the prognosis may be improved by more extensive operations on the thyroid gland, avoiding complications such as paralysis of the recurrent laryngeal nerve and tetany. The surgical efforts should also be supplemented with postoperative suppression of the TSH production. In seeking to explain the differences from American data, it should not be overlooked that papillary thyroid carcinoma may be inclined to take a more serious course in Denmark than in a number of other countries. Moreover, a nation-wide material must by necessity show less favorable results than data from specialized units. In the present retrospective study it was not possible to report 20- and 30-year survival rates. This is a task for the future, like the planning of prospective studies which, in the case of a disease as rare as papillary thyroid carcinoma, should be established on an international basis.