Ultrasonography.  2014 Oct;33(4):291-297. 10.14366/usg.14028.

Conventional papillary thyroid carcinoma: effects of cystic changes visible on ultrasonography on disease prognosis

• Kim JY
• Kim EK
• Lee HS
• Kwak JY

• KMID: 2381988
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.14366/usg.14028

Abstract

PURPOSE
To investigate the characteristics of papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) with cystic changes visible on ultrasonography (US).
METHODS
This study included 553 PTCs in 553 patients between January 2003 and August 2004. One radiologist with 10 years of experience in thyroid imaging retrospectively reviewed the preoperative US images. Two different groups were formed according to two different reference points (group 1, 25%; group 2, 50%) of the cystic component. Patients between the groups were compared according to their clinicopathologic characteristics. Disease-free survival (DFS) was estimated. Cox's multivariate proportional hazards regression model was used to identify the effect of variable factors on the recurrence risk.
RESULTS
Fifty-six patients (10.1%) were confirmed to have tumor recurrence within the follow-up period. Thirty-five patients had regional metastasis, one had distant metastasis, eight had multiple site metastases, and 12 had biochemical recurrence. PTC patients with a < or = 50% or PTC patients with a < or = 25% cystic component did not have a statistically significant longer DFS than those with a >50% (hazard ratio [HR], 1.118; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.255 to 4.910; P=0.883) or those with a >25% cystic component (HR, 0.569; 95% CI, 0.164 to 1.976; P=0.375), respectively. Moreover, independent predictors of recurrence were pathologic size, male gender, and lymph node metastasis, not a >50% or >25% cystic component.
CONCLUSION
The proportion of the cystic component in PTCs did not affect DFS.

Keyword

Thyroid nodule; Ultrasonography; Thyroid neoplasms

MeSH Terms

Disease-Free Survival
Follow-Up Studies
Humans
Lymph Nodes
Male
Neoplasm Metastasis
Prognosis*
Recurrence
Retrospective Studies
Thyroid Gland
Thyroid Neoplasms*
Thyroid Nodule
Ultrasonography*