risk reassessment of differentiated thyroid cancer in ahvaz, iran: a cross-sectional retrospective study

Background: accurate evaluation of response to treatment in differentiated thyroid cancer (dtc) is the sine qua non of preventing over-treatment in low-risk patients and implementing appropriate interventions in high-risk individuals. objectives: this study aimed to assess the response to therapy in dtc patients based on dynamic stratification method. methods: in this cross-sectional study, 154 medical records of subjects with dtc (with at least 6 months after total thyroidectomy) and referred to endocrinology clinics in ahvaz, iran, from april 2020 to may 2021 were examined. patients were stratified according to a dynamic risk stratification system (informed by their specific clinical, histopathological, and ultrasonography findings, and other diagnostic imagines) into four groups: excellent response (er), indeterminate response (ir), biochemical incomplete response (bir), and structural incomplete response (sir). results: for a mean follow-up period of 28.59 months, excellent response to treatment was observed in 92 patients (59.7%), indeterminate response to treatment was found in 32 patients (20.8%), biochemical incomplete response was detected in 2 patients (1.3%), and structural incomplete response was seen in 28 patients (18.2%). in the group with low risk of recurrence, er and ir were observed in 79.2% and 15.6% of the patients, respectively (p < 0.0001). in the group with an intermediate risk of recurrence, er was found in 32% of the patients, while ir and sir + bir were seen in 34% and 34% of the patients, respectively (p < 0.0001). no cases of er or ir were observed in the group with high risk (p = 0.001). conclusions: in sum, response to treatment significantly varied based on dynamic risk stratification, with er being highest in the low-risk group, less likely in moderate risk group, and undetected in the high-risk group.