Occult thyroid carcinoma:report of 34 cases / 中国普通外科杂志

ABSTRACT

ObjectiveTo investigate the diagnosis and treatment of occult thyroid carcinoma(OCT).MethodsRetrospective analysis on the clinical data of 34 cases of OCT was made. ResultsOnly 6 cases were preoperatively diagnosed as OCT. Total resection of the affected lobe and isthmus was performed on 16 cases with neck dissection in 14 cases. Subtotal thyroidectomy was performed on 18 cases. The occult cancer lesion was pathologically confirmed within ipsolateral lobe in all the 34 cases. Neck lymph node metastasis was found in 4 cases and local infiltration in 3 cases. The psammoma bodies in cancer lesion and adjacent normal gland were found in 15 cases. Thirty-one cases were followed up for an average of 9 years. One died of lung metastasis and two more of other unrelated diseases. Conclusion(1) The psammoma bodies in normal thyroid gland usually imply the existence of cancer. (2) Total thyroidectomy of a lobe or subtotal thyroidectomy was the therapy of choice. Local infiltration or neck lymph node metastasis necessitates additional neck dissection.