Endocrine Abstracts

Introduction: Thyroid nodules discovered during pre-transplant evaluation may delay the transplantation process. While studies suggest an increased incidence of thyroid cancer following solid organ transplantation, the impact on prognosis in papillary thyroid cancer (PTC) among renal transplant recipients remains unclear.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective review of renal transplant recipients with a history of PTC at our institution between 1998 and 2023. Patient demographics, tumor characteristics, treatment details, and outcomes were analyzed.

Results: Among 1507 renal transplant recipients, 11 patients (0.7%) were diagnosed with PTC. Of these, six patients (55%) had PTC prior to transplantation (pre-transplant group), while five patients (45%) developed PTC post- transplantation (post-transplant group). The median age at PTC diagnosis was 51 years (range: 38-59) in the pre- transplant group and 55 years (range: 37-74) in the post-transplant group. In pre-transplant group, the median time from PTC diagnosis to transplantation was 43 months (range 1-166), while three patients had recent (1 to 3 months) thyroidectomy before transplantation. The median time to PTC diagnosis in the post-transplant group was 11 months (range: 5-110). The majority of patients had stage I ATA risk score (pre-transplant: 83%, post-transplant: 75%). Recurrent PTC was not observed in pre-transplant and post-transplant groups with median follow-ups of 57 months (range:14-233) and 143 months (range:32-221) respectively. The survivals of pre-transplant and post-transplant groups did not differ (log-rank test, P > 0.05).

Conclusion: In this retrospective analysis, renal transplantation did not significantly impact the prognosis of patients with PTC. Recurrence rates and survival outcomes were comparable between pre-transplant and post-transplant PTC patients. The presence of PTC or thyroid nodules should not preclude patients from undergoing renal transplantation.