Efficacy and safety of US-guided thermal ablation for elderly patients with solitary papillary thyroid carcinoma: a multicenter preliminary study.

Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of US-guided thermal ablation (TA) for solitary papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) in elderly patients.

Materials and methods: This retrospective study included 91 elderly patients with solitary PTC who were treated with TA. The primary outcome was disease progression. The secondary outcomes included the volume change of ablated tumors, the volume reduction rate (VRR), the rate of complete disappearance, and complications.

Results: There were 73 T1a stage, 10 T1b stage and 8 T2 stage PTC patients older than 65 years old included in this study. During a median follow-up of 22.0 months, the overall disease progression rate was 2.2% (2/91). One patient developed a new tumor, and another developed lymph node metastasis (LNM). No patients were diagnosed with local recurrence, lymphatic/distant metastasis, or death due to PTC. At the longest follow-up, 72 months after TA, the median VRR was 100.0%, and 90.9% (10/11) of ablated tumors had been fully absorbed. Transient hoarseness occurred in two patients (2.2%).

Conclusion: TA is an effective and safe option for elderly patients with solitary PTC, providing a minimally invasive alternative for those who refuse surgery or active surveillance.