Application of the American Thyroid Association Risk Assessment in Patients with Differentiated Thyroid Carcinoma in a German Population

Background: The American Thyroid Association (ATA) uses criteria to assess the risk for persistent disease in differentiated thyroid carcinoma (DTC) after radioiodine therapy (RAI). There are no data available showing that this classification can be adopted unadjusted by Germany. Aim: The aim of our study is to investigate whether the ATA classification can be applied to a German population for short-term prognosis. Furthermore, we investigated the influence of an age cutoff value. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed 121 patients who were referred to our tertiary referral center. Patients were classified into risk categories, and the therapy response was determined according to ATA. Results: A total of 73/83 (88%) ATA low-risk patients and 12/19 (63%) intermediate-risk patients showed an excellent response; 2/19 (11%) high-risk patients had a biochemical, and 6 (31%) had a structural incomplete response. Of all 39 patients ≥55 years, 84% had an excellent response. Using a cut off of 50 years, 50/62 (81%) of the older patients showed an excellent response. Conclusion: The ATA risk classification is able to estimate the response to RAI therapy in a German population. A shift from 55 to 50 years as an age cutoff value does not result in any relevant change in the treatment response.