Statistical evaluation of the prognostic value of nuclear DNA content in papillary, follicular, and medullary thyroid tumors

Abstract

Abstract The prognostic value of tumor cell nuclear DNA content and various pre‐ and postoperative prognostic factors (pre‐ and postoperative TNM, tumor size, resection margins involved by tumor, age, and treatment) have been evaluated by means of bivariate correlations and multiple linear regression analyses in 182 patients with either papillary, follicular, or medullary thyroid carcinomas, or follicular adenomas. Fifty‐one patients died of diseases and 131 patients were alive at least 10 years after diagnosis. The strongest correlation between tumor cell nuclear DNA content and survival was obtained in the group with papillary carcinoma, followed by follicular and medullary carcinoma. Nuclear DNA content alone had a predictive power equivalent to and, in papillary carcinoma, significantly greater than, that of all other prognostic factors combined. When DNA was added to all other prognostic factors, a statistically significant increase of the prognostic value in the present 3 kinds of thyroid carcinomas, both pre‐ and postoperatively, was obtained .