Cancer of the Thyroid in patients over the age of fifty.

Aim. The authors performed a retrospective investigation of patients over thè age of 50, in order to detect any peculiarities of cancer of thè thyroid possibly affecting surgical treatment and whether age itself represented an independent prognostic factor. Methods. A total of 152 patients were examined at thè Department of Surgical Science of "La Sapienza" University of Rome with a minimum follow- up of 10 years. The 152 subjects recruited were divided into 3 age groups: from 51 to 60 years, (74 patients); from 61 to 70 years, (57 patients); from 71 to 80 years, (21 patients). Resulti. Relating thè different histologic types to age group, there was found to be a lower incidence of well-differentiated carcinoma and a relative increase in thè epidermoid and undifferentiated forms in older patients. In thè 51-60 age group 80% of thè patients were at stages I and II, while in thè 71-80 age group 56.2% of cases were at stages III and IV. Conclusion. In thè elderly patient undifferentiated, anaplastic or epidermoid forms and those with a higher biologica! aggressiveness are more frequently found. We believe that prompt diagnosis would present thè surgeon with neoplasms at an early stage and with less aggressive histotypes, thus ensuring greater scope for radicai surgical treatment and appreciably enhancing prognosis.