Hsieh Yu-Shan, Yang Ting-Teng, Hsu Chung-Huei, Lin Yan-Yu
School of Nursing, National Taipei University of Nursing and Health Sciences, Taipei City 11230, Taiwan.
Department of Research, Taipei Medical University Hospital, Taipei City 11030, Taiwan.
Reports (MDPI). 2024 Sep 16;7(3):78. doi: 10.3390/reports7030078.
Thyroid cancer is the most common endocrine carcinoma, accounting for 3.26% of all cancers. The most histologically, well-differentiated thyroid cancer is papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC). Although PTC is regarded as an indolent tumor, a portion of the cancer cells metastasize to lymph nodes around the thyroid gland. Lymph node metastasis (LNM) is a critical risk factor for tumor recurrence in PTC, which strongly affects disease prognosis and the quality of life. This study aims to examine how differences in the level of the thyroid profile and other risk factors may influence LNM incidence in patients with PTC in Taiwan. We carried out a single-center retrospective study. These PTC patients were retrospectively reviewed by the Department of Endocrinology from 2016 to 2019. A total of 165 patients were included in our research. The findings revealed a close relationship with the level of free thyroxine (FT4), the level of the thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH), and lymph node metastases. The correlation in terms of FT4 ( = 0.005) and TSH ( = 0.417) with LNM was found as a result of the univariate regression analysis. In the multiple regression analysis, the findings revealed a close relationship between LNM, FT4 ( < 0.001), and TSH ( = 0.008). Although the predictability of the TSH should be examined further, the association between LNM and FT4 or TSH should not be ignored. The results could help guide decision-making and patient counseling, using the level of serum FT4 or the TSH as a possible predictive factor of the LNM in PTC.
甲状腺癌是最常见的内分泌癌，占所有癌症的3.26%。在组织学上，分化良好的甲状腺癌最常见的是乳头状甲状腺癌（PTC）。尽管PTC被认为是一种惰性肿瘤，但一部分癌细胞会转移至甲状腺周围的淋巴结。淋巴结转移（LNM）是PTC肿瘤复发的关键危险因素，严重影响疾病预后和生活质量。本研究旨在探讨甲状腺指标水平差异及其他危险因素如何影响台湾PTC患者的LNM发生率。我们进行了一项单中心回顾性研究。这些PTC患者由内分泌科于2016年至2019年进行回顾性审查。共有165例患者纳入我们的研究。研究结果显示游离甲状腺素（FT4）水平、促甲状腺激素（TSH）水平与淋巴结转移之间存在密切关系。单因素回归分析结果发现FT4（=0.005）和TSH（=0.417）与LNM存在相关性。在多因素回归分析中，研究结果显示LNM、FT4（<0.001）和TSH（=0.008）之间存在密切关系。尽管TSH的预测性应进一步研究，但LNM与FT4或TSH之间的关联不容忽视。这些结果有助于指导决策和患者咨询，将血清FT4水平或TSH作为PTC中LNM的可能预测因素。
