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. 2022 Nov;407(7):3025-3030.
doi: 10.1007/s00423-022-02604-7. Epub 2022 Jul 12.

Effect of skip metastasis to lateral neck lymph nodes on outcome of patients with papillary thyroid carcinoma

Jean Baptiste Bertin  1 , Camille Buffet  2   3 , Laurence Leenhardt  2   3 , Fabrice Menegaux  1   3 , Nathalie Chereau  4   5
Affiliations

Effect of skip metastasis to lateral neck lymph nodes on outcome of patients with papillary thyroid carcinoma

Jean Baptiste Bertin et al. Langenbecks Arch Surg. 2022 Nov.

Abstract

Context: Lymph node metastasis (N1) is a prognostic factor for disease recurrence in papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) patients. Skip metastasis is defined as only lateral N1 with negative central lymph nodes (LNs).

Objective: The aim of this study was to explore the outcome of PTC patients with skip N1.

Patients and design: All patients who underwent a total thyroidectomy with ipsilateral central and lateral LN dissection for PTC from 1999 to 2019 in a high-volume endocrine surgery centre were included in this study.

Main outcome measure: Demographic and outcomes-recurrence and disease-specific survival (DSS)-were compared between three groups: N1a (central N1 only), N1b-CL (central and lateral N1), and N1b-Skip (lateral N1 without central LN involvement).

Results: During the study period, 3046 patients had surgery for PTC, including 1138 with N1 (37%, 860 women, mean age: 44.8 years) comprising 474 N1a (42%), 513 N1b-CL (45%), and 151 N1b-Skip (13%). The median follow-up was 74 months (range 12-216 months). The recurrence rate in the N1b-Skip group was 13% (20/151) and 10% (47/474) in the N1a group. This was significantly lower than that in the N1b-CL group (27%, 140/513) (p < 0.0001). DSS at 10 years was 99% for group N1a, 98% for the N1b-CL, and 99% in the N1b-Skip group.

Conclusion: The recurrence rate of N1b-Skip patients was lower than that of N1b-CL patients and similar to that of N1a patients. This result could be used as an indication for the modality of radioiodine therapy, and for the pattern of follow-up procedures.

Keywords: Lymph node dissection; Papillary thyroid carcinoma; Skip metastasis.

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