The value of preoperative clinical and sonographic characteristics of clinically node‐negative papillary thyroid carcinomain predicting central lymph node metastasis / 中华超声影像学杂志

ABSTRACT

To investigate the association of preoperative clinical and sonographic characteristics of clinically node‐negative ( cN0) papillary thyroid carcinoma ( PTC) with central lymph node metastasis ( CLNM ) . Methods A total of 514 patients with PTC confirmed by pathology in our hospital were included in the retrospective analysis . Clinical and sonographic characteristics were assessed including age ,gender ,tumor size ,and the distance between the tumor and the capsule . These cases were all diagnosed as cN0 according to clinical and sonography examinations . And the cases were divided into CLNM ( + ) group and CLNM ( －) group based on the pathological results . T hen statistical analysis was used to evaluate the correlation between CLNM and risk factors of cN 0 PTCs . Results ① Of the 514 cN0 PTC cases ,211 cases ( 41 .1% ) were CLNM ( + ) and 303 cases ( 58 .9% ) were CLNM ( －) . ② With the presence of capsule invasion in the ultrasound examination ,the probability of CLNM ( + ) group was higher than that of CLNM ( －) group ( 62 .1% vs 37 .9% ) . ③ In the 364 cases without capsule invasion ,the probability of CLNM ( + ) was significantly increased when the distance between the tumor and the capsule was ＜ 1 .5 mm ( 88 .8% vs 11 .2% ) . ④ M ultivariate analysis showed that risk factors independently associated with CLNM included age ＜45 years old ,tumor maximum diameter ≥10 mm ,and the distance between the tumor and the capsule ＜ 1 .5 mm ,among w hich the distance between the tumor and the capsule ＜1 .5 mm had the highest OR value . Conclusions In cN0 PTC patients ,CLNM is associated with age ,size and the distance between the tumor and the capsule .