Cervical metastasis in papillary carcinoma of the thyroid: a histopathological study

The tendency of well differentiated thyroid carcinoma to remain localised, and the slow progression of these tumours, have supported the belief that this disease behaves as a low grade malignancy. However, with differentiated carcinomas of the thyroid the incidence of nodal metastasis is highest in the papillary subgroup, and the importance of cervical metastases is being increasingly recognised. We have performed and prospectively analysed 17 neck dissections in 13 patients with clinically N+ve necks and papillary carcinoma of the thyroid. In all 17 neck dissections, metastatic deposits of papillary carcinoma of the thyroid were seen, with metastases found in all levels. Our findings of positive lymph nodes in all levels of the neck, with no predictable pattern of spread, and skip metastases, support an aggressive surgical approach to the treatment of cervical metastatic papillary carcinoma of the thyroid.