Unifocal Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma Research Articles

High Recurrent Rate of Multicentric Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma

Multicentric papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) is not unusual in patients with PTC. However, its clinical features concerning cancer recurrence and mortality are not well described. A total of 1682 PTC patients at a single institution who underwent total thyroidectomy were retrospectively reviewed; the mean follow-up period was 7.7 +/- 0.1 years. Postoperative radioactive iodide ablation for thyroid remnant was performed after surgery for most patients. Of all the PTC cases reviewed, 337 cases (20.0%) were categorized as multicentric PTC. Compared with patients with unifocal PTC, multicentric PTC patients demonstrated older age, advanced TNM staging, and higher recurrence. A higher recurrence rate for multicentric PTC (20.2%) was observed compared with that for unifocal PTC; 45.8% of multicentric PTC cases with >or= 5 foci experienced cancer recurrence. Mean tumor size of the largest nodule in patients with multicentric PTC was significantly smaller than that found in unifocal PTC. Patients with multicentric papillary microcarcinoma (<or=1 cm) had higher recurrence rate and cancer mortality than those with unifocal papillary microcarcinoma. Of the recurrent multicentric PTC cases, 52.9% were persistent or diagnosed within the first year of thyroidectomy and had a cancer-related mortality of 27.8%. The 5-, 10-, and 20-year survival rates of multicentric PTC patients were 97.7%, 94.4%, and 84.7%, respectively, which were not statistically different from those of unifocal PTC patients. Multicentric PTC warrant postoperative adjuvant therapy and close surveillance within the first year. Patients with multicentric papillary thyroid microcarcinoma need to be treated as high-risk patients.

Cervical masses as manifestation of papillary thyroid carcinomas ≤10 mm in diameter, in patients with unknown thyroid disease

BackgroundPapillary thyroid microcarcinomas are tumors often found accidentally after thyroidectomy for other thyroid disorders.MethodsPatients with enlarged lateral cervical masses, with unknown thyroid disease, found to have metastases from papillary thyroid carcinoma ≤10 mm in diameter, were compared to patients operated on for nodular or multinodular goiter, who were incidentally found to have papillary thyroid microcarcinomas.ResultsGroup A included 24 patients with an enlarged lateral cervical mass whereas group B included 30 patients presenting with nodular or multinodular goiter. Patients in both groups underwent surgery. After thyroidectomy and lymph node dissection, pathology revealed multifocal papillary carcinomas of 1–10 mm, with invasion of the thyroid capsule and surrounding soft tissue in most of the cases in group A. Two patients presented with distant metastases at diagnosis which were surgically removed. During follow up, 3 patients (12.5%) presented with new cervical metastases which were surgically removed or treated with additional radioactive iodine. At last follow-up, all patients were alive. In contrast, all patients in group B had unifocal papillary thyroid carcinoma 1–10 mm in maximum diameter, with no infiltration or extension into the adjacent tissue, or cervical lymph node metastases.ConclusionTwo groups of papillary thyroid microcarcinomas characterized by different clinical and biological behaviours are identified. Significant differences were found between these groups concerning the age, tumor size, number of tumor foci, lymph nodes metastases and extrathyroidal extension of the tumor. Papillary thyroid carcinomas of small (≤10 mm) size may have aggressive behaviour or be metastatic, and this subgroup should be treated and followed up as are other large, differentiated thyroid cancers.