2108 cases of thyroid cancer cervical lymph node dissection or not

Abstract Clinical and pathological data from 2108 patients with thyroid cancer, who were initially diagnosed and treated surgically, were collected from the Department of Thyroid Surgery. Among them,There were 1001 cases underwent open operation with total thyroidectomy + central lymph node dissection, meanwhile 1107 cases were treated with neck lateral lymph node dissection at the same time.The overall metastasis rate of all patients was 57.23%. Even the lymph node metastasis of PTMC was as high as 48.97%. When the mass rose above 2cm, the proportion of metastasis increased to 77.22%. With the increase of tumor diameter, the metastasis of cervical lymph nodes ranged from 22.54% to 73.33%, which showed positive correlation.When the diameter of the tumor reached T1c level, the metastasis of the cervical lymph nodes was 56.91%, and the number of metastatic cases above T1c level accounted for 69.96% of the total metastatic cases. It is recommended that initial treatment should comprise at least total thyroidectomy + central lymph node dissection in China, to avoid the risks associated with secondary surgery and effects on patient quality of life.When the tumor diameter exceeds 1cm, the risk of cervical lymph node metastasis is high, we recommended the lateral lymph node dissection.