Patient-Reported Outcomes Across Treatment Strategies in Papillary Thyroid Microcarcinoma

Among adults with papillary thyroid microcarcinoma, how do patient-reported health-related quality of life outcomes compare across active surveillance, thermal ablation, and surgery?In this systematic review and meta-analysis of 13 studies including 5793 patients, active surveillance was consistently associated with equal or better health-related quality of life than surgery across multiple thyroid-specific domains, while thermal ablation showed favorable short-term outcomes compared with surgery.Results of this systematic review and meta-analysis support the use of active surveillance as a treatment strategy for low-risk papillary thyroid microcarcinoma and underscore the importance of incorporating patient-reported outcomes into decision-making.

Corresponding Author: Carrie Cunningham, MD, MPH, Department of Surgery, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 15 Fruit St, Boston, MA 02114 (ccunningham@mgh.harvard.edu).

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