OBJECTIVE : To analyse the ini­tial manifestations, pathological find­ings, therapy, outcome and prognos­tic factors in patients with papillary and follicular carcinoma of the thyroid gland and also to evaluate DNA flow-cytometry as a prognostic factor in dif-frentiated thyroid carcinoma.
PATIENTS : Analysis of clinical and pathological records was con­ducted on 210 patients { 48 male and 162 female) treated for well differen­tiated thyroid carcinoma refered to Clinical Oncology Department and Surgical Endocrinology Unit, Mansou­ra University Hospital in the period from Janury 1990 to December 1995.
RESULTS :    The patients were
22.8% males and 77.2% females. 68.6% patients presented with papillary carcinom a. High incidence in fifth decade. 89.5% of cases the duration of symptoms was less than 6 months. 21% presented with neck node metastases, while distant meta-stases in 13% . Recurrences were recognised in 7% of patients. The two and five years disease free survival rates were 91% and 88% respective­ly. By univariate analysis, patienti's age at the time of diagnosis, tumour size, extraglandular extension, nodal status, distant metastasis were found to be significant prognostic variables while the sex and histology were found to be non significant. DNA content was diploid in 57% of follic­ular carcinoma and 37% of papillary carcinoma. Aneuploid pattern was