Predictive factors of contralateral occult carcinoma in patients with papillary thyroid carcinoma: a retrospective study.

BACKGROUND: The surgical approach toward unilateral papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) has been in controversy. One of the concerns is the existence of contralateral occult carcinoma, which could cause relapse and even lead to re-operation if not dealt with. This study aims to find out risk factors related to contralateral occult PTC, in order to facilitate in surgical approach decision for PTC. METHODS: A total of 921 PTC patients who underwent total/near-total thyroidectomy and central lymph node dissection (CND) with/without lateral lymph node dissection (LND) from January 2014 to Sept 2017 in Guangdong General Hospital were assessed retrospectively. The relations between contralateral occult PTC and clinicopathologic characteristics of PTC were analyzed by univariate and multivariate logistic regression. RESULTS: The incidence of contralateral occult carcinoma in patients with PTC was 16.7% (154 of 921 cases). Univariate analysis showed that multifocality of the primary carcinoma (P=0.000), lymph node metastasis (P=0.001), pathologic tumor size (P=0.014) and contralateral benign nodule (P=0.000) were significantly associated with the increased incidence of contralateral occult PTC. No significant correlations were found between contralateral carcinoma and other variables such as gender (P=0.338), age (P=0.283), BRAF mutation (P=0.187) or extrathyroidal extension (P=0.423). Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that contralateral benign nodule (P=0.000), multifocality (P=0.000) and lymph node metastasis (P=0.009) were independent predictors of bilateral PTC of patients whose pre-operation ultrasound (US) show a unilateral carcinoma. CONCLUSIONS: Lymph node metastasis, contralateral benign nodule and multifocality are independent predictors of contralateral occult PTC. For unilateral PTC patients with one or more of these factors, total/near-total thyroidectomy should be considered when making surgical approach decisions.

The Clinicopathological Features of Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma Patients with Positive Hepatitis B Surface Antigen.

BACKGROUND: Hepatitis B virus infection has been reported to be associated with some kinds of cancer. The aim of this study was to investigate clinicopathological features of papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) patients with positive hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg). MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 569 PTC patients were analyzed retrospectively in this study. The relationships of HBsAg with clinicopathologic features of PTC were analyzed by univariate analysis. The relationships of central lymph node metastasis (CLNM) with clinicopathological features of PTC were analyzed by univariate and multivariate logistic regression analysis. RESULTS: The incidence of CLNM in PTC with positive HBsAg was higher than that in PTC with negative HBsAg (71.4 vs. 60.0%, p = 0.047). Univariate analysis showed that positive HBsAg was significantly associated with bilateral tumors (p = 0.043) and lymph node metastasis (LNM) (p = 0.047) in PTC patients. In addition, the incidence of CLNM in patients with PTC was 61.7% (351 of 569 cases). Univariate analysis showed that CLNM of patients with PTC was significantly associated with positive HBsAg (p = 0.047). Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that positive HBsAg (p = 0.038) was an independent predictor of CLNM in patients with PTC. CONCLUSIONS: The incidence of CLNM in PTC patients with positive HBsAg was significantly higher than that of patients with negative HBsAg. Positive HBsAg was correlated with LNM and bilateral tumors. In addition to gender, age <45 years, tumor size >2 cm, and lateral LNM, positive HBsAg was also an independent predictor of CLNM in PTC patients.

Genetic Polymorphisms on 4q21.1 Contributed to the Risk of Hashimoto's Thyroiditis.

Background: Hashimoto's thyroiditis (HT) is a common autoimmune disease characterized by lymphoid infiltration of the thyroid gland, including both T- and B-cells. Early studies have shown that HT is a complex disorder affected by both environmental and genetic factors. Recently, the single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) rs2276886 associated with the CXCL9 gene was identified as associated with autoimmune thyroid disease susceptibility in Japanese populations. The aim of the present study was to validate this result for HT in a Chinese Han population. Methods: Study subjects, including 688 HT cases and 1456 healthy controls, were recruited, and 10 SNPs located within the CXCL9 gene were genotyped. Genetic association analyses were performed by fitting logistic models. Bioinformatics tools, including RegulomeDB and GTEx were utilized to investigate the functional consequences of the SNPs found to be significantly associated with HT. Results: SNP rs2276886 was identified as significantly associated with the risk of HT (odds ratio [OR] = 1.25, p = 0.0006). No significant expression quantitative trait loci (eQTL) signals could be identified for CXCL9. Significant eQTL signals were found for other genes, including ART3, CXCL10, CXCL11, NAAA, PPEF2, and SCARB2. This SNP physically maps to the CXCL9 gene region; however, further bioinformatic analyses indicated that this SNP might be associated with the gene NAAA. Conclusions: The rs2276886 SNP was found to be significantly associated with HT susceptibility. However, our findings suggest that this SNP which maps to the chromosomal region 4q21.1 likely effects the NAAA gene (as opposed to the CXCL9 gene), but still contributes to the susceptibility to HT in Han Chinese populations.

Resveratrol improves endothelial dysfunction and attenuates atherogenesis in apolipoprotein E-deficient mice.

Endothelial dysfunction is an early and central feature of atherosclerosis. Dietary resveratrol (RSV), a class of flavonoid compounds, have been demonstrated to exert several beneficial effects on human body. In this study, we investigated the protective effects of RSV on high fat diet-induced endothelial dysfunction. Human aortic endothelial cells (HAECs) were treated with RSV to evaluate the gene expression of the endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS). Apolipoprotein E (apoE-/-) mice were fed a high-fat, high-cholesterol diet (HCD) or HCD supplemented with RSV for 8 weeks. Treatment of cultured HAECs with RSV dose-dependently upregulated the eNOS expression as assessed by quantitative RT-PCR and Western blot, respectively. In addition, RSV increased the promoter activity of the human eNOS gene, as determined by luciferase assays of the eNOS promoter gene. The cAMP-response element binding protein (CREB) was identified as the target transcription factor involved in the RSV mediated upregulation of eNOS expression. RSV increased phosphorylation of CREB through protein kinase A (PKA) activation, which induced a CREB-mediated upregulation of eNOS transcription. Consequently, RSV treatment significantly reversed the deleterious effects of oxidized LDL (oxLDL)-induced oxidative stress in HAECs. In vivo, treatment with RSV improves endothelial dysfunction and attenuates atherosclerotic plaque formation in apoE-/- mice through PKA-CREB-dependent pathway. Our findings demonstrate that RSV has an effect of activating eNOS expression, contributing to the prevention of dyslipidemia-induced endothelial dysfunction and atherosclerosis.

Predictors of lymph nodes posterior to the right recurrent laryngeal nerve metastasis in patients with papillary thyroid carcinoma: A retrospective study.

The aim of this study was to identify the risk factors associated with lymph nodes posterior to the right recurrent laryngeal nerve (LN-prRLN) metastasis in patients with papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC).A total of 81 PTC patients who underwent total/near-total thyroidectomy with LN-prRLN dissection in the Department of General Surgery at Guangdong General Hospital between June 2015 and August 2016 were assessed retrospectively. The relations of LN-prRLN metastasis with clinicopathologic characteristics of PTC were analyzed by univariate and multivariate logistic regression.The incidence of LN-prRLN metastasis in patients with PTC was 51.9% (42 of 81 cases). Univariate analysis showed that lateral LN metastasis (P = .005), VIa central LN metastasis (P = .000), pathologic tumor size (P = .000), capsular invasion (P = .002), and extrathyroidal invasion (P = .018) (P < .05) were significantly associated with the increased incidence of LN-prRLN metastasis in PTC. No significant correlations were found between LN-prRLN metastasis and other variables such as gender (P = .056), age (P = .448), clinical N stage (cN) (P = .063), tumor location (P = .336), tumor site (P = .909), right tumor existence (P = .793), and multifocality (P = .381). Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that VIa central LN metastasis (OR: 4.490, P = .027) was independent risk factors of LN-prRLN metastasis in patients with PTC.LN-prRLN metastasis is often indentified in patients with PTC. VIa central LN metastasis is an independent predictors of LN-prRLN metastasis, which allow for selective LN-prRLN dissection in patients with PTC.

Identification of risk factors of central lymph node metastasis and evaluation of the effect of prophylactic central neck dissection on migration of staging and risk stratification in patients with clinically node-negative papillary thyroid microcarcinoma.

OBJECTIVE: The first aim of this study was to explore the risk factors that were associated with central lymph node metastasis (CLNM) in patients with clinically node-negative papillary thyroid microcarcinoma (cN0 PTMC) after prophylactic central neck dissection (PCND). The second aim was to evaluate the influence of PCND on migration of TNM staging and risk stratification (RS) in patients with cN0 PTMC. METHODS: A total of 295 cN0 PTMC patients who underwent thyroidectomy with PCND in the Department of General Surgery at Guangdong General Hospital between March 2014 to December 2015 were assessed retrospectively. The relations of CLNM with clinicopathologic characteristics of cN0 PTMC were analyzed by univariate and multivariate logistic regression. The effect of PCND on migration of TNM staging and RS was also observed. RESULTS: The incidence of CLNM was 42.4% (125 of 295 cases) in patients with cN0 PTMC. Univariate analysis showed that age (P=0.000), ultrasonographic tumor size (P=0.009), pathologic tumor size (P=0.005), and multifocality (P=0.031) were significantly associated with the incidence of CLNM. No significant correlations were found between the presence of CLNM and other variables such as gender (P=0.399), bilaterality (P=0.118), capsular invasion (P=0.111), lymphovascular invasion (P=0.184), extent of thyroidectomy (P=0.319) and lymphadenectomy (P=0.458). Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that age <45 years (P=0.000) and multifocality (P=0.033) were independent predictors of CLNM in patients with cN0 PTMC. Because of the identification of CLNM in the implementation of PCND, 42 (14.2%) patients were upstaged, and 118 (40.0%) patients upgraded in RS. CONCLUSIONS: CLNM is highly prevalent in cN0 PTMC. Age <45 years and multifocality are independent risk factors of CLNM in cN0 PTMC patients. PCND can identify CLNM, which allows more accurate TNM staging/RS and may have an important impact on postoperative treatment in cN0 PTMC patients.

To Identify Predictors of Central Lymph Node Metastasis in Patients with Clinically Node-Negative Conventional Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma.

Objective. The aim of this study was to identify the risk factors associated with central lymph node metastasis (CLNM) in patients with clinically node-negative conventional papillary thyroid carcinoma (cN0 CPTC). Methods. A total of 190 cN0 CPTC patients who underwent thyroidectomy with prophylactic central neck dissection (pCND) in the Department of General Surgery at Guangdong General Hospital between March 2014 and December 2015 were assessed retrospectively. The relations of CLNM with clinicopathologic characteristics of cN0 CPTC were analyzed by univariate and multivariate logistic regression. Results. The incidence of CLNM in patients with cN0 CPTC was 63.2% (120 of 190 cases). Univariate analysis showed that age <45 years (P = 0.000), tumor size >2 cm (P = 0.009), multifocality (P = 0.001), and bilaterality (P = 0.000) were significantly associated with the increased incidence of CLNM in cN0 CPTC. No significant correlations were found between CLNM and other variables such as gender (P = 0.150), capsular invasion (P = 0.973), extrathyroidal invasion (P = 0.616), and lymphadenectomy (P = 0.062). Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that age <45 years (P = 0.000), tumor size >2 cm (P = 0.025), and bilaterality (P = 0.000) were independent risk factors of CLNM in patients with cN0 CPTC. Conclusions. Metastatic disease to central compartment lymph nodes is prevalent in patients with cN0 CPTC. Age <45 years, tumor size >2 cm, and bilaterality are independent risk factors of CLNM, which allow for selective CND in patients with cN0 CPTC.