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Updated: May 10, 2026

An Orthotopic Mouse Model of Anaplastic Thyroid Carcinoma
Published on: April 17, 2013
Papillary thyroid microcarcinoma with and without nodal metastasis: A comparative analysis
Saleh Alqaryan1, Hisham Almousa1, Raed Almutairi1
1From the Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery Department (Alqaryan, Almousa, Alessa, Aldhahri, Alqahtani), King Saud University; from the Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery Division, Department of Surgery (Alqaryan), King Abdulaziz Medical City, National Guard for Health Affairs; from the Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery Department (Almayouf, Albarrak), King Fahad Medical City; from the Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery Department (Doubi), King Saud Medical City; from the Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery Department (Altuwaijri), Security Forces Hospital; from the College of Medicine (Alqahtani), Imam Mohammad Ibn Saud Islamic University, Riyadh; and from the Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery Department (Almutairi), King Fahad Specialist Hospital, Buraidah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Objectives:
To assess the demographics and clinical factors of papillary thyroid microcarcinoma (PTMC) patients in Saudi Arabia and compared and analyzed the differences between the patients with and without lymph node metastasis (LNM). Papillary thyroid microcarcinoma (PTMC) is a common thyroid cancer and is not usually detectable clinically but found incidentally after pathologic evaluation of thyroid tissue following surgery for benign thyroid disorders. However, these tumors have a significant risk of LNM.
Methods:
All PTMC patients who underwent surgery at King Abdulaziz University Hospital, King Fahad Medical City, and King Abdulaziz Medical City from 2012 to 2022 were included. The incidence rate of LNM was 9.17%. The patients' average age was 44.05. Most of the patients were female.
Results:
Prevalence of LNM among PTMC patients is 9.17% (n=31). The PTMC patients showed the following significant risk factors for LNM: higher Bethesda class, type of pathology, extrathyroidal extension, extracapsular extension, lymphovascular invasion, and residual tumors in patients who had received radioactive iodine. Presence of thyroiditis, multifocality, goitrous thyroid, neural invasion, and tumor size were unrelated to the LNM in the PTMC patients.
Conclusion:
Higher Bethesda class, pathology type, extrathyroidal extension, extracapsular extension, lymphovascular invasion, and RAI-treated residual tumors were strongly linked to LNM.
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