Multicentric papillary carcinoma of the thyroid: Study at the Hospital of San José de Bogotá Carcinoma papilar multicéntrico del tiroides: Estudio en el Hospital de San José de Bogotá

Abstract

Papillary thyroid carcinoma (TPC) is the most frequent endocrine neoplasia. Part of its characteristics is to be multicentric and have great predisposition for regional ganglion invasion. There is still controversy about the extension of the surgical procedure as the therapy of choice; Options vary from the resection of the compromised lobe to the completion of total thyroidectomy and central lymph node dissection. Those who support the former are based on the lower possibility of recurrent laryngeal nerve injury, while the latter seek better local control of the disease. We retrospectively reviewed the clinical histories and pathology reports of 202 patients diagnosed with CPT between 1994 and 2003, who underwent total thyroidectomy and central lymph node dissection at the Hospital de San José in Bogotá to determine if they were multicentric in the surgical specimens. Data from 168 (83%) women and 34 (17%) men were included, finding multiple foci in 91 (45%), lymph node metastases in 131 (64.85%) and combination of the former in 58 (28.7%). Recurrent laryngeal nerve injury was observed in three patients (1.48%), all of them men. The above data suggest that the performance of total thyroidectomy and central lymph node dissection allows a better control of the local disease with a low risk of recurrent laryngeal nerve injury. Abbreviations: CPT, papillary thyroid carcinoma; HSJ, Hospital de San José; BAAF, fine needle aspiration biopsy.