Sporadic medullary thyroid cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis of clinico-pathological and mutational characteristics predicting recurrence

Table 1 Characteristics and risk of bias in included studies

1^st Author and Year		Number of Patients (number of recurrences)	Males	Average Age	Patient Selection				Data Collection			Total Score
1^st Author and Year		Number of Patients (number of recurrences)	Males	Average Age	Adequate Case Definition?	Consecutive cases?	Appropriate Comparators?	Clear comparator definition?	Record linkage?	Length of follow up Average > 2 years?	< 10% loss to follow up?	Total Score
Saltiki [4]	2019	163 (86)	73	Mean 52.7	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	Mean 7.5 years (for sMTC and familial)	✓	7
Grubbs [10]	2016	62 (16)	36	Mean 50.1	✓	?	✓	✓	✓	Median 10.5 years	✓	6
Simbolo [11]	2014	20 (9)	9	Mean 51.5	✓	?	✓	✓	✓	Median 4 years	✓	6
Abraham [8]	2011	26 (3)	14	Mean 55.1	✓	?	✓	✓	✓	Mean 6.25 years	✓	6
Dvorakova [12]	2008	48 (31)	19	Mean 54.1	✓	?	✓	✓	✓	Mean 2.5 years	✓	6
Raffell [13]	2004	15 (1)	3	51	✓	?	✓	✓	✓	Mean 4.6 years	✓	6
Schilling [14]	2001	34 (23)	44	Mean 58.9	✓	?	✓	✓	✓	Mean 6.4 years	✓	6
Uchino [15]¹	1999	38 (4)	?	?	✓	?	✓	✓	✓	Median 11 years	✓	6
Uchino [16] ²	1998	34 (4)	?	?	✓	?	✓	✓	✓	Median 11 years	✓	6
Romei [17]	1996	18 (4)	4	Mean 58.9	✓	?	✓	✓	✓	Mean 2.7 years	✓	6

1. Used for overall RET status alone. 2. Used for M198T status alone. This was due to how the data was reported. There was no crossover of patients

ISSN: 1756-6614