Table 3. Risk factors for lymph node structural recurrence/persistence during follow-up.
| N = 211 | LN Recurrence/persistence (n = 52) | No LN recurrence/persistence (n = 159) | p-value | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age | 38 (21-77) | 42 (21-72) | 0.08 | |
| Gender (F:M) | 67.3%:32.7% | 71.7%:28.3% | 0.3 (NS) | |
| cN1 | 66.7% | 75.3% | 0.4 (NS) | |
| Number of metastatic lymph nodes | 6 (2-33) | 4 (1-30) | 0.02 | |
| > 3 cm metastatic lymph node | 30.5% | 26% | 0.08 | |
| Lymph node | 28.5% | 41.6% | 0.07 | |
| Central compartment (N1A) | ||||
| Lateral compartment (N1B) | 71.5% | 58.4% | 0.07 | |
| Extranodal extension | 19.2% | 7.5% | 0.03 | |
| Histology | 0.4 | |||
| PTC | 90.6% | 86.4% | ||
| FV PTC | 7.5% | 9.3% | ||
| Hurthle variant | 0 | 2.9% | ||
| FTC | 1.9% | 1.4% | ||
| Tumor size (cm) | 2.5 (1.0-8.0) | 2.0 (0.3-15) | 0.3 (NS) | |
| ETE | 65.3% | 55.8% | 0.3 (NS) | |
| Multifocality | 53.1% | 51.1% | 0.8 (NS) | |
| Vascular invasion | 34% | 20.4% | 0.05 | |
| Distant metastases | 13.5% | 12.6% | 0.5 (NS) | |
| RAI initial activity (mCi) | 150 (100-200) | 150 (30-250) | 0.5 (NS) | |
| RAI cumulative activity(mCi) | 350 (120-1050) | 150 (100-1100) | < 0.001 | |
| Post-operative suppressed Thyroglobulin (ng/mL) | 92 (< 0.1-460) | 1.15 (< 0.1-280) | 0.01 | |
PTC: papillary thyroid cancer; FTC: follicular thyroid cancer; ETE: extrathyroidal extension; NED: no evidence of disease; ATA: American Thyroid Association; RAI: radioactive iodine.