Oncological outcomes for patients with well differentiated thyroid cancer

Well differentiated thyroid cancer is increasing in incidence. Despite the fact that more patients present with disease, deaths due to disease remain stable, as this malignancy is rarely fatal. The vast majority of patients can be cured, and even those that suffer a recurrence can often still expect to be disease free following salvage therapy.
This thesis analyzes the outcomes of patients who present with well differentiated thyroid cancer. We report the factors which predict outcome within this group, and the mode of death for patients who recur and die of disease. We also report the results of treatment, with a particular focus on the role of individually selective therapy. Both surgical and non surgical treatments are analyzed in an attempt to define a balanced approach to the management of patients with this generally low risk disease.