ObjectiveTo establish a predictive model for neck lateral lymph node metastasis (LLNM) in unilateral papillary thyroid cancer (uni-PTC) with central lymph node metastasis (CLNM). MethodsThe uni-PTC patients with CLNM were included in this study. The patients underwent thyroid surgery in the 960th Hospital of the PLA Joint Logistics Support Force from May 2018 to December 2021, who were randomly divided into the modeling group and the validation group according to the ratio of 7∶3. The risk factors of neck LLNM were analyzed by univariate and multivariate logistic regression and the nomogram of prediction model was constructed. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve and calibration curve were used to validate the prediction model. ResultsA total of 237 patients were included in this study, including 158 patients in the modeling group and 79 patients in the validation group. The LLNM occurred in the 84 patients of the modeling group and 43 patients of the validation group. The multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed according to the statistical indicators in the univariate analysis results of the modeling group and the risk factors considered in the previous studies. The results showed that the patients with maximum diameter of the lesions >1 cm, multiple lesions, extraglandular invasion, the rate of CLNM ≥0.414, and lesions located at the upper portion had higher probability of LLNM (OR>1, P<0.05). The area under ROC curve of the nomogram in predicting LLNM in the modeling group was 0.834 [95%CI (0.771, 0.896)], which in the validation group was 0.761 [95%CI (0.651, 0.871)]. The calibration curve showed a good calibration degree in the prediction model. ConclusionThe clinical risk prediction model established based on the risk factors can better predict the probability of LLNM.
ObjectiveTo summarize the clinicopathological characteristics of papillary thyroid cancer (PTC) in adolescents and analyze the risk factors affecting lateral lymph node metastasis and prognosis. MethodsIn retrospectively, 150 adolescent PTC patients admitted to the Department of Thyroid Surgery of the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University from January 2012 to January 2022 and meeting the inclusion and exclusion criterias were collected as the study subjects (adolescent group), and 100 adult PTC patients were selected as adult group. Statistical analysis was performed with SPSS 25.0 software to compare the clinicopathological characteristics of the patients in the two groups, and to explore the risk factors for lateral lymph node metastasis and recurrence in adolescent PTC patients by using logistic regression and Cox proportional hazards regression models, respectively. ResultsAdolescents with PTC were more prone to extrandular invasion [30.0% (45/150) versus 17.0% (17/100), P=0.020], neck lymph node metastasis [79.3% (119/150) versus 48.0% (48/100), P<0.001], central lymph node metastasis [78.7% (118/150) versus 48.0% (48/100), P<0.001], lateral lymph node metastasis [44.0% (66/150) versus 12.0% (12/100), P<0.001]; and had a greater maximum tumor diameter (1.75 cm versus 0.75 cm, P＜0.001) and higher ratio of greater maximum tumor diameter ＞2 cm [45.3% (68/150) versus 8.0% (8/100), P＜0.001] in adolescent PTC patients. In adolescent PTC patients, extraglandular invasion (OR=2.654, P=0.022), multifoci (OR=4.860, P<0.001) and maximum tumor diameter>2 cm (OR=3.845, P=0.001) were risk factors for lateral lymph node metastasis; lateral lymph node metastasis (RR=10.105, P=0.040) and distant metastasis (RR=7.058, P=0.003) were predictors of postoperative recurrence in adolescent PTC patients. ConclusionsCompared with adult PTC patients, adolescent PTC patients have more aggressive tumors. Adolescent PTC with extraglandular invasion, multilesions, and maximum tumor diameter>2 cm should be considered for lateral lymph node dissection; and adolescent PTC patients with lateral lymph node metastasis and distant metastasis should pay close attention to their recurrence status.
ObjectiveTo explore the risk factors for lateral lymph node metastasis (LLNM) in medullary thyroid carcinoma (MTC). MethodsA retrospective analysis was conducted on 132 MTC patients who underwent initial treatment in Zhejiang Cancer Hospital from March 2015 to July 2023. Chi-square test, Mann-Whitney nonparametric test and logistic regression were used to analyze the risk factors associated with LLNM in MTC patients by SPSS 22.0 software. ResultsOut of 132 MTC patients, 46 developed LLNM. Multivariate analysis showed that male (female vs. male: OR=0.139, P=0.005), high preoperative calcitonin (Ctn) level (OR=1.001, P=0.042), capsule invasion (OR=15.164, P<0.001), and central lymph node metastasis (OR=4.573, P=0.016) were independent risk factors for LLNM in MTC patients (P<0.05). When the preoperative serum Ctn of MTC patients was greater than 482.50 pg/mL, it indicated a high possibility of LLNM [AUC=0.856, 95%CI (0.791, 0.921)]. ConclusionsGender (male), capsule invasion, high Ctn level, and central lymph node metastasis are independent predictors of LLNM in MTC. For MTC patients with the aforementioned high-risk factors, clinical physicians need to be vigilant about the possibility of LLNM.
ObjectiveTo establish a prediction model for ipsilateral cervical lateral lymph node metastasis (LLNM) in stages T1–T2 unilateral papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) and to verify its efficacy. MethodsA retrospective case-control study was conducted to analyze the clinical information of 280 patients with unilateral PTC at stages T1–T2 who underwent ipsilateral cervical lateral lymph node dissection and were diagnosed postoperatively via pathological examination in the Department of Thyroid Surgery (General Surgery) at the First Hospital of Shanxi Medical University from February 2019 to February 2024. The patients were randomly allocated into a training set and a test set in a 7∶3 ratio. The general, clinical, laboratory, and imaging data were collected for all patients. The univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were used to compare the differences in data of the patients between with and without LLNM in the training set. Then the risk factors affecting on the LLNM were used to construct a nomogram prediction model. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was generated for both the training and test sets, and the area under the ROC curve (AUC) was calculated to evaluate model discrimination. The calibration curve was used to assess model calibration, and decision curve analysis (DCA) was conducted to evaluate the clinical utility of the nomogram prediction model. ResultsA total of 280 patients were included, including 196 in the training set and 84 in the testing set. There were no statistically significant differences in the clinical and pathological data between the training set and the testing set (P>0.05). There were 147 cases of LLNM in the training set and 63 cases of LLNM in the testing set. The results of multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that the patients with T1–T2 stage unilateral PTC who were male in gender, had cancer lesions located in the upper pole, had central lymph node metastasis, had larger cancer lesions, and higher serum thyroid stimulating hormone level had a higher probability of developing ipsilateral cervical LLNM (P<0.05). The AUC (95%CI) of the nomogram prediction model constructed based on these risk factors in the training and testing sets were 0.822 (0.747, 0.897) and 0.838 (0.743, 0.933), respectively. The calibration curves of the training and testing sets roughly overlapped with the reference curve. The DCA results indicated that the net benefit for patients was positive when the threshold probabilities were within the ranges of 15% to 92% for the training set and 10% to 100% for the test set. ConclusionsThe results of this study suggest that gender, maximum cancer lesion diameter, cancer lesion location, central lymph node metastasis, and serum thyroid stimulating hormone are risk factors affecting the occurrence of ipsilateral cervical LLNM in T1–T2 stages unilateral PTC. The nomogram prediction model developed based on these risk factors demonstrates good discrimination, accuracy, and clinical applicability for its prediction.
ObjectiveTo evaluate the diagnostic efficacy of thyroglobulin in fine-needle aspirate fluid (FNA-Tg) for detecting cervical lateral lymph node metastases (LLNM) in differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC). MethodsThe clinical data of DTC patients who underwent (selective) cervical lateral lymph node dissection at the 900th Hospital of the Joint Logistics Support Force from February 1, 2021 to November 30, 2023 were retrospectively analyzed. The significance level (α) was set as 0.05. ResultsAccording to the inclusion and exclusion criteria, a total of 155 patients with 179 lymph nodes were included, among which 49 lymph nodes were not metastatic and 130 were metastatic. The results of the integral patients showed that the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) of FNA-Tg for distinguishing cervical LLNM in the patients with DTC was superior to that of fine-needle aspiration cytology (FNAC). The AUCs (95% confidence intervals) were 0.973 (0.950, 0.995) and 0.778 (0.708, 0.849) respectively, P<0.05, and the AUC (95% confidence interval) of the combination of the two was higher [0.978 (0.959, 0.997)]. The optimal diagnostic threshold of FNA-Tg was determined to be 16.45 μg/L or FNA-Tg/serum thyroglobulin (sTg) was 1.02. After stratification based on the size of the lymph nodes, a paired analysis of the two methods (FNA-Tg and FNAC) showed that the diagnostic efficiency of FNA-Tg was significantly higher than that of FNAC only when the short diameter of the lymph node was ≤0.8 cm [0.955 (0.919, 0.992) vs. 0.718 (0.630, 0.806), P<0.001], and there was no additional benefit from the combination of the two [0.950 (0.912, 0.989)]. ConclusionsThe results of this study suggest that FNA-Tg shows a good diagnostic efficacy for cervical LLNM in patients with DTC, especially has an obvious advantage for small lymph nodes with a short-axis diameter of lymph node ≤0.8 cm. Its optimal diagnostic threshold is 16.45 μg/L or FNA-Tg/sTG is 1.02.
ObjectiveTo investigate the risk factors affecting on cervical central lymph node metastasis (CLNM) and lateral lymph node metastasis (LLNM) in patients with papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC). MethodsThe patients with newly diagnosed with PTC who underwent surgical treatment in this hospital from April 2020 to December 2023 were included. The univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were conducted to identify the risk factors influencing the occurrences of CLNM and LLNM in patients with PTC and a prediction model was developed using these risk factors. Additionally,the discriminatory power of the predictive model for CLNM and LLNM was evaluated using the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC). ResultsA total of 297 patients with PTC were included in this study, among whom 149 (50.2%) cases developed CLNM, and 41 (13.8%) cases developed LLNM. The multivariate analysis indicated that the male, age <36 years old and maximum tumor diameter >5 mm were the independent risk factors for CLNM in the patients with PTC (P<0.05). The independent risk factors for LLNM in the patients with PTC were the age ≥59 years old, bilateral (or isthmus) cancer foci, maximum tumor diameter >5 mm, and invasion of the capsule (P<0.05). The AUC (95%CI) of the CLNM prediction model, constructed using three risk-associated factors (gender, age, and maximum tumor diameter), was 0.693 (0.633, 0.752). For the LLNM prediction model, which incorporated four factors [age, unilateral/bilateral (or isthmus), maximum tumor diameter, and capsular invasion], the AUC (95% CI) was 0.776 (0.707, 0.846).ConclusionsThe data indicate that PTC patients with maximum tumor diameter (>5 mm) and young (age <36 years old) male characteristics exhibite a higher risk of CLNM, patients with maximum tumor diameter (>5 mm), capsular invasion, bilateral (or isthmus) cancer foci, and elderly (age ≥59 years old) characteristics exhibite a higher risk of LLNM.