Analysis of risk factors for cervical lymph node metastasis in papillary thyroid carcinoma

Abstract

Objective To study the clinical characteristics of cervical lymph node metastasis in patients with papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) and to explore the risk factors of nodal metastasis. Methods A retrospective analysis of the clinical data of 203 patients with PTC was conducted from January 2019 to December 2020 in Shanghai International Medical Center. The factors influencing cervical lymph node metastasis were analyzed by univariate analysis and multivariate Logistic regression. Results Rate of lymph node metastasis in 203 patients was 44.3% (90 cases) and 4.9% (10 cases) in la-teral compartment. Univariate analysis showed that rate of cervical lymph node metastasis was higher in males, thyroid calcification on ultrasonography, larger tumor, multifocus, tumor close to capsule, and the cases with overweight (P<0.05). Multivariate analysis showed that male, age younger than 45 years, larger tumor, multifocus, and tumor close to the capsule were independent risk factors of cervical lymph node metastasis. Tumor was more located in the upper thyroid pole for the patients with lateral lymph node metastasis. Conclusions Male, age younger than 45 years, larger tumor, multifocus, and tumor close to capsule would be risk factors for cervical lymph node metastasis in PTC. It is recommended to pay more attention to both preoperative evaluation and intraoperative exploration for cervical lymph nodes.

Keywords

• |papillary thyroid carcinoma|cervical lymph node metastasis|calcification