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Updated: Jul 27, 2026
Quantification of Tumor Cell Adhesion in Lymph Node Cryosections
Published on: February 9, 2020
The presence of large lymph node metastasis as a prognostic factor of papillary thyroid carcinoma
Shin-Ichiro Kitajiri1, Harukazu Hiraumi, Tomoko Hirose
1Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Kyoto University Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University, Sakyo-ku, Japan. kitajiri@ent.kuhp.kyoto-u.ac.jp
Objective:
Papillary thyroid carcinomas often metastasize to regional lymph nodes, but the significance of lymph node metastasis as a prognostic factor has not been established. This study was conducted to determine the survival rate in patients with and without large lymph node metastasis greater than 3 cm in the maximum diameter, which are N2 or N3 for other head and neck cancers.
Methods:
The survival rate was determined by using Kaplan-Meier method in 67 patients with previously untreated papillary thyroid carcinoma who underwent radical surgery at the Department of Otolaryngology, Toyooka Hospital, between 1993 and 2000.
Results:
The prognosis was significantly poor (P=0.004) in patients with large lymph node metastasis greater than 3 cm in the maximum diameter. No significant difference was noted in the prevalence of large lymph node metastasis greater than 3 cm in the maximum diameter between different T groups.
Conclusion:
Large lymph node metastasis was considered to be a poor prognostic factor of papillary thyroid carcinoma independent of the T classification.
