Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 10, 2026
Computer-Aided Three-Dimensional Visualization in the Treatment of Locally Advanced Thyroid Cancer
Published on: June 9, 2023
Tumor location-dependent skip lateral cervical lymph node metastasis in papillary thyroid cancer
Yoon Se Lee1, Sung-Chan Shin, Yun-Sung Lim
1Department of Otorhinolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery, Pusan National University School of Medicine and Medical Research Institute, Busan, Republic of Korea; Department of Otolaryngology, Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
Background:
Lateral cervical lymph node metastasis without central lymph node (CLN) metastasis is not infrequent in papillary thyroid cancer (PTC). This study was designed to investigate the frequency and pattern of skip metastasis in PTC.
Methods:
We reviewed 131 patients who underwent total thyroidectomy with CLN dissection and selective lymph node dissection. Tumor location was classified in 3 areas (upper, middle, and lower third) based on preoperative ultrasonographic findings.
Results:
All skip metastases occurred in patients whose tumors had been on the upper part of the thyroid (p < .001). Among 9 patients with skip metastasis, level III lymph nodes (66.7%) were the lymph nodes that were most frequently involved in skip metastasis.
Conclusion:
Primary tumors in the upper portion of the thyroid are closely linked to skip metastasis. Careful preoperative evaluation of lateral cervical lymph nodes is suggested when a tumor is in the upper portion.
