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Hussein MH, Toraih EA, Ohiomah IE, Siddeeque N, Comeaux M, Landau MB, Anker A, Jishu JA, Fawzy MS, Kandil E. Navigating Choices: Determinants and Outcomes of Surgery Refusal in Thyroid Cancer Patients Using SEER Data. Cancers (Basel) 2023; 15:3699. [PMID: 37509360 PMCID: PMC10378250 DOI: 10.3390/cancers15143699] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/21/2023] [Revised: 07/14/2023] [Accepted: 07/18/2023] [Indexed: 07/30/2023] Open
Abstract
With thyroid cancer being a prevalent endocrine cancer, timely management is essential to prevent malignancy and detrimental outcomes. Surgical intervention is a popular component of the treatment plan, yet patients often refuse to undergo such procedures even if clinicians explicitly recommend them. This study gathers data from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results database (2000-2019) to learn more about the sociodemographic factors that predict the likelihood of surgical intervention. A total of 176,472 patients diagnosed with either papillary or follicular thyroid cancer were recommended surgery, of which 470 were refused. Cancer-specific mortality and overall mortality were determined with the Kaplan-Meier method and univariate and multivariate Cox proportional hazards regression model. Mortality rates for patients who delayed surgery (≥4 months vs. <4 months) were determined using similar methods. The findings reveal that surgical delay or refusal increased overall mortality. The surgical refusal was associated with increased thyroid cancer-specific mortality. However, the impact on thyroid cancer-specific mortality for those who delay surgery was not as pronounced. Significant sociodemographic determinants of surgical refusal included age greater than or equal to 55 years, male sex, being unmarried, race of Asian and Pacific Islander, and advanced tumor staging. The results underscore the importance of patient education, shared decision-making, and access to surgical interventions to optimize outcomes in thyroid cancer management.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mohammad H Hussein
- Division of Endocrine and Oncologic Surgery, Department of Surgery, School of Medicine, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA 70112, USA
| | - Eman A Toraih
- Division of Endocrine and Oncologic Surgery, Department of Surgery, School of Medicine, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA 70112, USA
- Genetics Unit, Department of Histology and Cell Biology, Faculty of Medicine, Suez Canal University, Ismailia 41522, Egypt
| | - Ifidon E Ohiomah
- School of Medicine, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA 70112, USA
| | | | - Marie Comeaux
- School of Medicine, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA 70112, USA
| | | | - Allison Anker
- School of Medicine, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA 70112, USA
| | - Jessan A Jishu
- School of Medicine, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA 70112, USA
| | - Manal S Fawzy
- Department of Medical Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Faculty of Medicine, Suez Canal University, Ismailia 41522, Egypt
- Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine, Northern Border University, Arar 91431, Saudi Arabia
| | - Emad Kandil
- Division of Endocrine and Oncologic Surgery, Department of Surgery, School of Medicine, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA 70112, USA
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