Background and purpose: Most of differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC) has favorable prognosis

however

there are still a certain number of patients with recurrence after first operation. This study aimed to report the treatment outcome of 125 cases of persistent/recurrent DTC

and to predict risk factors for prognosis in DTC. Methods: A total of 125 cases of recurrent/persistent DTC patients who underwent surgery between 2008 and 2017 were retrospectively analyzed. The American Thyroid Association (ATA) dynamic risk stratification (DRS) was used to evaluate treatment outcome during follow-up. Results: A total of 125 DTC patients were enrolled in this study

including 26 male patients and 99 female patients

with mean age of 42 years. Forty-five (45/125

36.0%) cases recurred in remnant thyroid

and nodal recurrence occurred in the central neck in 56 (56/125

44.8%) patients

lateral neck in 58 (58/125

46.4%) patients. The post-operation complications included 3 cases of permanent hypoparathyroidism and 4 cases of permanent recurrent laryngeal nerve palsy. The mean follow-up time was 61 months

and 5-year complete remission rate was 69.6% (87/125). Multivariate analysis showed that the number of previous operations was an independent variable predictor of prognosis in DTC patients (OR=2.948

95% CI: 1.125-7.725

P=0.028). Conclusion: Remnant thyroid recurrence and lymph node metastasis are the main reasons for disease recurrence/persistence in DTC. We recommend experienced surgeons conduct reoperation because of high risk of complications. The number of previous operations is an independent variable predictor of prognosis in DTC patients.