Assessing quality of life in papillary thyroid cancer through a cross-sectional comparative study of SF-26 versus ThyPRO questionnaire

Despite excellent survival rates, papillary thyroid cancer (PTC) may negatively affect patients' quality of life (QoL), especially due to fear of recurrence. This study aims to evaluate the applicability of the Thyroid-Related Patient-Reported Outcome Questionnaire (ThyPRO) in patients with PTC and to assess its correlation with the widely used SF-36 QoL instrument. A total of 121 PTC patients who underwent total thyroidectomy between July 2019 and June 2021 at Ankara University were enrolled. Patients those with comorbidities were excluded. QoL was assessed using the ThyPRO and SF-36 questionnaires. Thyroid function tests and ultrasound findings were also collected. Moderate negative correlations were identified between several corresponding subscales of ThyPRO and SF-36: tiredness and vitality (r = - 0.546, p < 0.001); anxiety (r = - 0.446), depressivity (r = - 0.403), and emotional susceptibility (r = - 0.545) with mental health (all p < 0.001); impaired social life with social functioning (r = - 0.378, p < 0.001); and impaired daily life with role-physical and role-emotional (r = - 0.335, p < 0.001). However, no significant correlation was found between the overall QoL scores of ThyPRO and the general health domain of SF-36 (r = - 0.157, p = 0.087). ThyPRO demonstrates acceptable validity when compared with SF-36 in relevant domains and may serve as a disease-specific instrument for QoL assessment in patients with PTC.