Medullary thyroid carcinoma: a 30-year experience at one institution in Korea

PURPOSE The objective of this study was to review the clinical outcome and prognosis of patients with sporadic and hereditary medullary thyroid cancer (MTC) who were treated at a single tertiary hospital in Korea. METHODS We retrospectively reviewed the case files of 85 patients treated from August 1982 to February 2012. RESULTS In all, 65 patients (76.5%) had sporadic MTC and 20 patients (23.5%) had hereditary MTC. Patients in the sporadic group were older than in the hereditary group (P < 0.001). However, the hereditary group had more tumor multiplicity (P < 0.001) and bilaterality (P < 0.001). Neither survival rate was significantly different between the sporadic and hereditary groups (P = 0.775 and P = 0.866). By multivariate analysis, distant metastasis was a significant prognostic factor for overall and progression-free survival. CONCLUSION In general, patients with MTC have favorable outcomes. Distant metastasis appears to be the strongest predictor of overall and progression-free survival.