Abstract:

Background and purpose: During recent years, the incidence of papillary thyroid microcarcinoma (PTMC) has increased year by year. There are many differences in its diagnosis and treatment. This research investigated and summarized the clinical diagnosis and treatment of thyroid papillary carcinoma by means of analyzing the patients’ data. Methods: Clinical data of 61 pathology-confirmed PTMC patients admitted to the Department of Head and Neck Surgery, Shanxi Dayi Hospital from Feb. 2012 to Jan. 2015 were retrospectively analyzed. Result: Sixty-one cases underwent high resolution ultrasound examination before operation, and the accuracy rate was 86.9%. All patients underwent surgical treatment. Thirty-nine patients had thyroid lobectomy and ipsilateral central lymph node dissection (CLND), 11 underwent concurrent partial thyroidectomy, 22 had total thyroidectomy and bilateral central lymph node dissection and 5 underwent concurrent cervical lymph node dissection. The incidences of central and cervical lymph node metastasis were 44.3% and 8.2%, respectively. Univariate analysis showed that the risk factors for central lymph node metastasis were age <45 years, multifocality, tumor location near or across the midline, tumor diameter ≥5 mm, but not gender. The rates of central lymph node metastasis were 66.7%, 60.7%, 66.7% and 53.8, respectively.. Conclusion: High resolution ultrasound examination has a high sensitivity for the detection of PTMC. It is important to implement standardized and individualized treatment plan to the patients with PTMC.

Key words: Papillary thyroid micro-carcinoma, High resolution ultrasound, Surgical treatment, Central lymphnode metastasis