Papillary microcarcinoma of the thyroid

Papillary microcarcinoma of the thyroid has been often detected by aspiration biopsy cytology performed with ultrasonographic guidance. Autopsy studies also have often revealed small thyroid carcinomas, and it was concluded that most small thyroid carcinomas should not be regarded as a clinical matter. In this study, 112 patients with papillary microcarcinoma 10 mm or less in size treated between 1992 and 1995 were analyzed. There were 104 females and 8 males, with a mean age of 46.0 years. Diagnosis of papillary carcinoma was made preoperatively in 100 of these patients (89.3%), and 77 patients underwent aspiration biopsy cytology under ultrasound guidance. Seventy of these patients underwent modified neck dissection, and 63.8% of these patients had lymph node metastases. The number of lymph node metastasis increased as primary tumor size increased. There was no clear border or clinical differences between primary tumors 10 mm or less and tumors more than 10 mm. One patient had lymph node recurrence after surgery and another patient had recurrent nerve palsy at the first visit. Based on these findings, papillary microcarcinoma should be treated surgically.