Impact of Pregnancy on Outcome and Prognosis of Survivors of Papillary Thyroid Cancer

Background: Papillary thyroid cancer (PTC) commonly affects women of child-bearing age. During normal pregnancy, several factors may have a stimulatory effect on normal and nodular thyroid growth. The aim of the study was to determine whether pregnancy in thyroid-cancer survivors poses a risk of progression or recurrence of the disease. Methods: The files of 63 consecutive women who were followed at the Endocrine Institute for PTC in 1992–2009 and had given birth at least once after receiving treatment were reviewed for clinical, biochemical, and imaging data. Thyroglobulin levels and neck ultrasound findings were compared before and after pregnancy. Demographic and disease-related characteristics and levels of thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) during pregnancy were correlated with disease persistence before conception and disease progression during pregnancy using Pearson's analysis. Results: Mean time to the first delivery after completion of thyroid-cancer treatment was 5.08 ± 4.39 years; mean duration...