Microscopic positive margins strongly predict reduced disease-free survival in pT4a papillary thyroid cancer

Although microscopic positive margins appear to have no independent prognostic impact in papillary thyroid cancer (PTC), this may not be the case in pT4a tumors.

Retrospective analysis of 610 patients with PTC, 39 with pT4a tumors, to determine if microscopic positive margins impact disease-free survival (DFS) in pT4a PTC.

On univariate analysis, microscopic positive margins were not associated with reduced DFS in patients with no extrathyroidal extension (ETE) (hazard ratio [HR], 1.7; P = 0.32), microscopic ETE (HR, 1.6; P = 0.36), or macroscopic ETE limited to strap muscles (HR, 1.2; P = 0.87). In contrast, microscopic positive margins were associated with reduced DFS in T4a disease (HR, 4.1; P = 0.04). Disease recurrence was nodal, distant, or biochemical, and did not occur directly at the site of positive margins.

Although microscopic positive margins do not influence DFS in the majority of patients with PTC, they are associated with a fourfold increased risk of recurrence in pT4a disease.