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Microscopic positive margins strongly predict reduced disease‐free survival in pT4a papillary thyroid cancer
Author(s) -
Abraham Earl,
Roshan David,
Tran Bryan,
Graham Susannah,
Lehane Christopher,
Wykes James,
Campbell Peter,
Ebrahimi Ardalan
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
head and neck
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.012
H-Index - 127
eISSN - 1097-0347
pISSN - 1043-3074
DOI - 10.1002/hed.25730
Subject(s) - papillary thyroid cancer , medicine , thyroid cancer , hazard ratio , univariate analysis , pathology , thyroid , multivariate analysis , confidence interval
Background Although microscopic positive margins appear to have no independent prognostic impact in papillary thyroid cancer (PTC), this may not be the case in pT4a tumors. Methods Retrospective analysis of 610 patients with PTC, 39 with pT4a tumors, to determine if microscopic positive margins impact disease‐free survival (DFS) in pT4a PTC. Results On univariate analysis, microscopic positive margins were not associated with reduced DFS in patients with no extrathyroidal extension (ETE) (hazard ratio [HR], 1.7; P = 0.32), microscopic ETE (HR, 1.6; P = 0.36), or macroscopic ETE limited to strap muscles (HR, 1.2; P = 0.87). In contrast, microscopic positive margins were associated with reduced DFS in T4a disease (HR, 4.1; P = 0.04). Disease recurrence was nodal, distant, or biochemical, and did not occur directly at the site of positive margins. Conclusion Although microscopic positive margins do not influence DFS in the majority of patients with PTC, they are associated with a fourfold increased risk of recurrence in pT4a disease.