Feasibility study of active surveillance for low-risk papillary thyroid microcarcinoma / 中华健康管理学杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective:To investigate the feasibility of active surveillance for low-risk papillary thyroid microcarcinoma.Methods:This is a cross-sectional study. From 2013 to 2017, 61 patients with pathologically confirmed papillary thyroid microcarcinoma were followed-up dynamically. The growth of nodules, newly-developed nodules and lymph node metastasis were recorded and were set as the criteria for disease progression. And the disease progression was the outcome event of survival analysis. The patients were divided into two groups based on the median age at diagnosis. Univariate analysis of factors influencing disease progression in different age groups was performed using Cox proportional hazards regression. The differences in disease progression between different age groups were compared using the Kaplan-Meier method and the log-rank test.Results:Of the 61 patients, there were 9 males and 52 females. The median age of disease onset was 43 years (ranged 23-74 years). The median follow-up time was 2 years (ranged 2-7 years), and 22 (36.1%) patients with tumor diameter increased by ≥3 mm, including 5 males and 17 females. A total of 22 cases (36.1%) showed an increase in tumor diameter of ≥3 mm, including 5 males and 17 females. Thirteen cases (21.3%) developed new malignancies, including 2 males and 11 females. Three cases (5%) had lymph node metastasis, all of which were females. In total, 24 cases (39.3%) showed disease progression, including 5 males and 19 females. Disease progression was more frequent in the <43 years age group compared to the ≥43 years age group.Conclusions:For patients with low-risk papillary thyroid microcarcinoma, strict adherence to the indications for active surveillance and consideration of patient preferences make active surveillance a feasible tumor management approach.