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Preoperative serum calcitonin may improve initial surgery for medullary thyroid cancer in patients with indeterminate cytology
Author(s) -
Jassal Karishma,
Ravintharan Nandhini,
Prabhakaran Swetha,
Grodski Simon,
Serpell Jonathan W.,
Lee James C.
Publication year - 2022
Publication title -
anz journal of surgery
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.426
H-Index - 70
eISSN - 1445-2197
pISSN - 1445-1433
DOI - 10.1111/ans.17690
Subject(s) - medicine , medullary thyroid cancer , calcitonin , endocrine surgery , thyroid cancer , thyroidectomy , lymph node , cytology , thyroid , dissection (medical) , general surgery , surgery , pathology
Background Medullary thyroid cancer (MTC) is rare, with poorer outcomes than differentiated thyroid cancer. We aimed to identify areas for improvement in the pre‐operative evaluation of patients with possible MTC in a high‐volume endocrine surgery unit in accordance with current practice guidelines. We hypothesised that the selective use of serum calcitonin (sCT) as a biomarker for possible MTC could guide the extent of initial surgical management. Methods We recruited MTC patients between 2000 and 2020 from the Monash University Endocrine Surgery Unit database. Demographics, tumour characteristics, pre‐operative evaluation, operative management, and outcomes were analysed. Results Of 1454 thyroid cancer patients, 43 (3%) had MTC. Pre‐operatively, 36 (84%) patients with MTC confirmed on cytology (28, 65%), elevated sCT (6, 14%) or RET mutation (2, 4%). Of these 36 patients, 31 (86%) had optimal extent of thyroidectomy and lymph node dissection (LND). Five (14%) had less than total thyroidectomy due to nerve injury. Thirty‐four patients had compartmental LND. In the 12 (27%) patients with indeterminate or non‐diagnostic cytology, 5 had elevated sCT and were managed as above. None of the remaining seven had LND, thus potentially suboptimal surgery. Conclusion Our findings reflect the rarity of MTC, and the challenges of pre‐operative diagnosis. The addition of sCT may improve surgical planning in patients with indeterminate cytology.