Pleural effusion as a novel prognostic factor in metastatic thyroid carcinoma.

Objective: To identify novel prognostic risk factors and compare them with other known prognostic risk factors in follicular-cell-derived thyroid carcinoma (FDTC) with distant metastases.

Methods: A retrospective review was conducted of adult patients with metastatic FDTC seen at a tertiary care center between January 1990 and December 2010. A 15-year Kaplan-Meier survival estimate was created for overall survival (OS) and cancer-specific survival (CSS).