Risk Factors for Cervical Lymph Node Metastasis in Middle Eastern Papillary Thyroid Microcarcinoma

Area of Science:

• Endocrinology
• Oncology
• Pathology

Background:

• Papillary thyroid microcarcinoma (PTMC) usually has an excellent prognosis.
• However, some PTMC cases involve lymph node metastasis (LNM) and local recurrence.
• PTMC in Middle Eastern populations exhibits unique characteristics, necessitating specific risk factor exploration.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate factors influencing LNM in Middle Eastern PTMC patients.
• To assess the impact of LNM on patient outcomes.
• To identify predictors for LNM in this demographic.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective analysis of 226 PTMC cases.
• Evaluation of clinico-pathological and molecular characteristics against LNM.
• Multivariate logistic regression and Cox proportional hazards models were employed.

Main Results:

• LNM rate was 43.8% (99/226).
• Bilaterality, multifocality, gross extrathyroidal extension (ETE), and intermediate-to-high ATA risk were associated with LNM.
• Bilaterality and gross ETE were identified as independent predictors of LNM.

Conclusions:

• Bilaterality and gross ETE are independent risk factors for LNM in Saudi PTMC patients.
• LNM is associated with significantly shorter recurrence-free survival.
• Identifying these risk factors aids in personalized clinical management of PTMC.