A review of the management and prognosis of thyroid carcinoma with tracheal invasion.

The objective of the study was to explore the surgical approaches, treatment significance and prognosis of thyroid carcinoma with tracheal invasion. We retrospectively reviewed 48 patients with tracheal invasion by papillary thyroid carcinoma, follicular thyroid carcinoma and medullary thyroid carcinoma by means of clinical data ranging from 1993 to 2011. The patients were classified into three groups in terms of the depth and extent of tracheal invasion by the tumors, i.e., group A of 18 patients with localized tracheal invasion; group B of 21 patients with intraluminal tracheal invasion, and group C of nine patients with extensive invasion of the trachea, larynx, esophagus and/or mediastinum. Of these patients, 18 received radical tumorectomy and segmental resection of the outer layer of the tracheal wall; 21 had radical tumorectomy, circumferential sleeve trachea resection or segmental tracheal resection plus tracheal repair, and the remaining nine patients underwent radical tumorectomy, segmental trachea resection and esophagolaryngectomy. 46 patients took I(131) oral solution and/or had external radiotherapy postoperatively. A survival analysis was done using Kaplan-Meier Estimator for cumulative survival probability together with Log-Rank test, and Cox Regression Model was used for multivariate analysis. (1) In group A of 18 patients, 10 took I(131)oral solution and 7 received radiotherapy after surgery. The overall 5 and 10-year survival rates were 88.93 and 77.78 %, respectively; (2) In group B of 21 patients, 15 took I(131) oral solution and 7 received radiotherapy after surgery. The overall 5 and 10-year survival rates were 90.47 and 61.87 %, respectively; (3) In group C of 9 patients, 7 received radiotherapy after surgery. The overall 5 and 10-year survival rates were 77.78 and 22.22 %, respectively. Whether they received postsurgical I(131) treatment or radiotherapy, there was a statistical difference between the 5-year survival rates and the 10-year survival rates in all of these three groups (P value in each group is <0.05). In the treatment of thyroid carcinoma with tracheal invasion, radical tumorectomy plus tracheal repair, segmental tracheal resection or circumferential sleeve trachea resection could lengthen the survival time. Radical tumorectomy could enhance the probability of survival of patients with thyroid carcinoma that had extensively invaded the larynx, esophagus and/or mediastinum. Postsurgical I(131) treatment and radiotherapy enhanced the probability of survival.