Prediction of Nodal Metastasis by the AMES Scoring System in Patients with Papillary Thyroid Cancer / 대한내분비외과학회지

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: We assessed the prognostic value of AMES to determine the extent of surgery in PTC patients, and compared AMES score usefulness and accuracy with [18F] FDG PET/CT. METHODS: We conducted a review of data from a single center and a single surgeon, who treated 341 patients with PTC with total thyroidectomy and prophylactic bilateral CLN dissection at a tertiary referral center, Chungnam National University Hospital, between 2001 and 2012. RESULTS: In multivariate analysis, the rate of CLN metastasis was considerably higher in PTC patients with the higher AMES score (odds ratio [OR], 1.718; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.073~2.752), higher SUV of the CLN (>0) (OR, 6.525; CI, 3.184~13.371), higher SUV of the tumor (>4.3) (OR, 1.855; CI, 1.065~3.231). CONCLUSION: The AMES score is helpful in deciding whether to perform a CLN dissection, as there is a strong association between the AMES score and CLN metastasis. This high predictive value of CLN metastasis can help determine the extent of PTC surgery while considering the cost and effort.