Life quality drops then steadily improves after thyroidectomy in DTC patients

Patients with differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC) may experience a significant decline in health-related quality of life (HR-QoL) 3 months after thyroidectomy, but their HR-QoL will gradually improve and even exceed preoperative QoL by year 5, suggests a study.

“Factors contributing to improved physical QoL included the utilization of remote-access thyroidectomy, less extensive thyroidectomy, and the absence of radioactive iodine [RAI] ablation and hypoparathyroidism,” the authors said.

Overall, 185 patients with DTC who underwent thyroidectomy between January 2013 and December 2017 and completed all necessary questionnaire were included in the analysis.

The authors measured the HR-QoL of all participants using the University of Washington Quality of Life questionnaire (UW-QoL) and the City of Hope Quality of Life-Thyroid Version questionnaire (QoL-TV) both before surgery and at 3 months, 6 months, 1 year, 2 years, 3 years, and 5 years postoperatively.

Majority of the patients were female (150/185, 81.1 percent), with a mean age of 48.7 years. The total composite QoL scores for both UW-QoL and QoL-TV significantly dropped form preoperative levels to 3 months postoperatively. Subsequently, these scores showed gradual improvements over 5 years, even surpassing preoperative scores.

The following factors contributed to lower physical composite scores: total thyroidectomy, RAI ablation, and postoperative hypoparathyroidism.

Patients who underwent remote-access thyroidectomy reported greater satisfaction with appearance than those who had the conventional procedure. Major clinical concerns prior to and following surgery were mood and anxiety, which significantly improved after surgery.