Clinical Profile of Medullary Thyroid Carcinoma: Audit from a Tertiary Care Center in South India

CONTEXT: Medullary thyroid carcinoma (MTC), being an aggressive disease, requires meticulous follow-up and multidisciplinary management. The clinical presentation, management, outcome of MTC varies among different populations. AIMS: An audit was conducted to evaluate the demography, clinical presentation, management, and outcome of MTC in a tertiary care center in South India. SETTINGS AND DESIGN: A retrospective analysis was conducted of data from hospital records of patients with MTC treated at our center from 2004 to 2019. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: All analyses were performed with SPSS software (version 16). RESULTS: Among the 82 patients (M 42, F 40), mean age was 42.07 years (SD 14.5), 46 were operated at our center and 36, outside. Follow-up data were not available for all patients. Median duration of the disease was 36 months and median follow-up was 28 months. Lymphnode dissection was more common (37/46) in patients operated at our center than outside operated patients (17/36) (P < 0.01). At presentation, more than half of the patients had stage IV disease and 8 had distant metastases. Bone, lung, and liver were the common sites of metastases. Persistent hypercalcitoninemia >50 pg/mL was seen in 49.9%. Salvage surgeries of the neck were necessary in 29 patients (38.2%). Mean survival was 66 months and 10-year survival was 35%. Male gender (P = 0.008) and Stage IV disease at presentation (P = 0.038) were associated with poorer survival. CONCLUSION: MTC, in our population, presented at an advanced stage. Male gender and stage IV at presentation had poor survival. Early diagnosis, aggressive initial neck clearance, close follow-up with tumor markers, appropriate imaging, along with prompt surgical intervention will help to improve outcome.