PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Alqaryan, Saleh
AU  - Almousa, Hisham
AU  - Almutairi, Raed
AU  - Altuwaijri, Ahmed
AU  - Doubi, Aseel
AU  - Alqahtani, Zuhour
AU  - Almayouf, Mohammad
AU  - Albarrak, Majed
AU  - Alessa, Mohammed
AU  - Aldhahri, Saleh
AU  - Alqahtani, Khalid
TI  - Papillary thyroid microcarcinoma with and without nodal metastasis
AID  - 10.15537/smj.2024.45.3.20230638
DP  - 2024 Mar 01
TA  - Saudi Medical Journal
PG  - 267--272
VI  - 45
IP  - 3
4099  - http://smj.org.sa/content/45/3/267.short
4100  - http://smj.org.sa/content/45/3/267.full
SO  - Saudi Med J2024 Mar 01; 45
AB  - Objectives: To assess the demographics and clinical factors of papillary thyroid microcarcinoma (PTMC) patients in Saudi Arabia and compared and analyzed the differences between the patients with and without lymph node metastasis (LNM). Papillary thyroid microcarcinoma (PTMC) is a common thyroid cancer and is not usually detectable clinically but found incidentally after pathologic evaluation of thyroid tissue following surgery for benign thyroid disorders. However, these tumors have a significant risk of LNM.Methods: All PTMC patients who underwent surgery at King Abdulaziz University Hospital, King Fahad Medical City, and King Abdulaziz Medical City from 2012 to 2022 were included. The incidence rate of LNM was 9.17%. The patients’ average age was 44.05. Most of the patients were female.Results: Prevalence of LNM among PTMC patients is 9.17% (n=31). The PTMC patients showed the following significant risk factors for LNM: higher Bethesda class, type of pathology, extrathyroidal extension, extracapsular extension, lymphovascular invasion, and residual tumors in patients who had received radioactive iodine. Presence of thyroiditis, multifocality, goitrous thyroid, neural invasion, and tumor size were unrelated to the LNM in the PTMC patients.Conclusion: Higher Bethesda class, pathology type, extrathyroidal extension, extracapsular extension, lymphovascular invasion, and RAI-treated residual tumors were strongly linked to LNM.