Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2024 Oct 31;13(10):1684-1692.
doi: 10.21037/gs-24-147. Epub 2024 Oct 26.

The differences between unilateral multifocality and bilateral multifocality in papillary thyroid carcinoma: a retrospective cohort study

Zhujuan Wu  1 , Hao Gong  1 , Yuhan Jiang  1 , Tianyuchen Jiang  1 , Anping Su  1
Affiliations

The differences between unilateral multifocality and bilateral multifocality in papillary thyroid carcinoma: a retrospective cohort study

Zhujuan Wu et al. Gland Surg. .

Abstract

Background: The differences between unilateral multifocality and bilaterality in papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) are not fully understood. This study aimed to investigate the differences between unilateral multifocal PTC (UMPTC) and bilateral multifocal PTC (BMPTC).

Methods: Retrospective data analysis was done on 503 individuals who underwent complete thyroidectomy for PTC. Patients were classified into subgroups according to the type of multifocality including the UMPTC and the BMPTC. The relationships of demographic and clinicopathological features among these groups were analyzed.

Results: The patients were divided into the UMPTC group (n=117) and the BMPTC group (n=386). Among them, the BMPTC group was further divided into the N1-BMPTC group (261 cases with one lesion on each thyroid lobe) and the N2-BMPTC group (125 cases with one or more lesions on one lobe and two or more lesions on the other lobe). The maximum tumor diameter (MTD), in the BMPTC group, N1-BMPTC group, and N2-BMPTC group were larger than that in the UMPTC group. The recurrence rate of the N1-BMPTC group was higher than that of the UMPTC group. There were no significant differences in other clinicopathological characteristics [gender, age, body mass index (BMI), presence of Hashimoto's thyroiditis, presence of thyroid nodules, occurrence of capsular invasion, occurrence of extrathyroidal extension, occurrence of lymph node metastasis, and the American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) staging]. The N1-BMPTC group was associated with lymph node metastasis and tumor recurrence. In addition, the disease-free survival (DFS) rates showed the N1-BMPTC group having the lowest DFS rate among the UMPTC, N1-BMPTC, and N2-BMPTC groups.

Conclusions: Patients with N1-BMPTCs have a higher recurrence rate than those with other kinds of multifocal PTC.

Keywords: Bilateral multifocality; papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC); unilateral multifocality.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflicts of Interest: All authors have completed the ICMJE uniform disclosure form (available at https://gs.amegroups.com/article/view/10.21037/gs-24-147/coif). The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Kaplan-Meier survival curves illustrate DFS for the UMPTC, N1-BMPTC, and N2-BMPTC. The P value was calculated using the log-rank t (P=0.04). DFS, disease-free survival; UMPTC, unilateral multifocal papillary thyroid carcinoma; BMPTC, bilateral multifocal papillary thyroid carcinoma.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

References

    1. Ito Y, Kihara M, Takamura Y, et al. Prognosis and prognostic factors of papillary thyroid carcinoma in patients under 20 years. Endocr J 2012;59:539-45. 10.1507/endocrj.ej12-0086 - DOI - PubMed
    1. La Vecchia C, Malvezzi M, Bosetti C, et al. Thyroid cancer mortality and incidence: a global overview. Int J Cancer 2015;136:2187-95. 10.1002/ijc.29251 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Pellegriti G, Frasca F, Regalbuto C, et al. Worldwide increasing incidence of thyroid cancer: update on epidemiology and risk factors. J Cancer Epidemiol 2013;2013:965212. 10.1155/2013/965212 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Kitahara CM, Sosa JA. The changing incidence of thyroid cancer. Nat Rev Endocrinol 2016;12:646-53. 10.1038/nrendo.2016.110 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Malterling RR, Andersson RE, Falkmer S, et al. Differentiated thyroid cancer in a Swedish county--long-term results and quality of life. Acta Oncol 2010;49:454-9. 10.3109/02841860903544600 - DOI - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources