Cai Ping Huang

Risk Factors for Neck Nodal Metastasis in Papillary Thyroid Microcarcinoma: A Study of 1066 Patients

CONTEXT The surgical management of papillary thyroid microcarcinoma (PTMC), especially regarding the necessity of central lymph node dissection, remains controversial. OBJECTIVE The objective of the study was to describe the clinicopathological features of PTMC and to identify the risk factors for central lymph node metastasis (CLNM) that can guide surgical strategies for patients with PTMC. DESIGN In this retrospective cross-sectional study, risk factors and outcome variables were assessed at the time of surgery for the primary tumor. SETTING The study was conducted at a university-based tertiary care cancer hospital. PATIENTS Data from the medical records of 1066 consecutive patients diagnosed with PTMC over a 5-yr period were analyzed. RESULTS Our multivariate logistic regression analysis found male gender, younger age (≤45 yr of age), multifocal lesions, extrathyroidal extension, and larger size of the primary tumor (>6 mm) to be associated with CLNM; multifocal lesions were associated with the highest risk (odds ratio 4.476, 95% confidence interval 2.975-6.735). Extrathyroidal extension, multifocal lesions, and CLNM were associated with lateral neck lymph node metastasis (LLNM). In patients with a solitary primary tumor, tumor location in the upper third of the thyroid lobe was associated with a lower risk of CLNM and a higher risk of LLNM. CONCLUSIONS Prophylactic central lymph node dissection need be considered in PTMC patients presenting with risk factors. In PTMC patients with a solitary primary tumor, tumor location can assist in the evaluation of LLNM. We recommend multicenter research and long-term follow-up to better understand the risk factors and surgical management of PTMC.

Incidentally simultaneous occurrence of RET/PTC, H4–PTEN and BRAF mutation in papillary thyroid carcinoma

Because interaction existed between PTEN and RET-RAS-RAF-MAPK pathway, H4-PTEN (a newly identified gene rearrangement), RET/PTC and BRAF mutation were scanned in 125 Chinese patients with papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC). H4-PTEN were detected in 9.6% of PTC and the frequency of the occurrence of BRAF mutation and/or RET/PTC in H4-PTEN positive tumors was extremely high (75%). On the other hand, age has an important effect on the aberration formation and young age renders more prone to multi-genetic events. A combinational scanning of these involved changes will improve the predictive value of molecular aberrations in the treatment of PTC.

Predictive index for lymph node management of major salivary gland cancer

To find the risk factors of lymph node (LN) metastasis of salivary gland cancer and draw a scheme for LN management.

Programmed Death-Ligand 1 Expression in Papillary Thyroid Cancer and Its Correlation with Clinicopathologic Factors and Recurrence.

BACKGROUND Programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) expression has been reported in several malignancies, but the expression of PD-L1 in papillary thyroid cancer (PTC) has been characterized rarely. The aim of this study was to assess the significance of PD-L1 expression and its associations with clinicopathologic factors and disease outcome in PTC. METHODS Immunohistochemistry staining was conducted retrospectively to evaluate the expression of PD-L1 in a total of 260 PTC tumors and corresponding non-tumor tissues. The correlations between PD-L1 expressions with clinicopathologic features and recurrence-free survival (RFS) were analyzed. RESULTS PD-L1 expression was positive in 52.3% (136/260) of PTC tumor tissues, which was significantly higher than in corresponding non-tumor thyroid tissues. In clinicopathologic analyses, this positive staining of PD-L1 was positively linked to multifocality (p = 0.001) and extrathyroidal extension (p = 0.001). In multivariate Cox regression analysis, positive PD-L1 expression in tumor tissue was significantly associated with worse RFS (hazard ratio 2.825 [confidence interval 1.149-6.943], p = 0.024). In subgroup analyses based on clinicopathologic factors, positive PD-L1 staining of tumor tissue was associated with worse RFS in males (p = 0.001), older patients (≥45 years; p = 0.001), and patients with a primary tumor size >4 cm (p = 0.002), multifocal tumors (p = 0.031), extrathyroidal extension (p = 0.012), and lymph node metastasis (p = 0.004). In contrast, positive PD-L1 staining predicted worse RFS in the subgroup of patients without Hashimotos thyroiditis (p = 0.001) and treated with total thyroidectomy (p = 0.019). CONCLUSIONS PD-L1 is important in determining aggressiveness of PTC and could predict the prognosis of patients. Therefore, inhibition of PD-L1 is suggested as a potential strategy for the treatment of advanced PTC with high expression of PD-L1.

Prognostic significance and optimal cutoff of age in medullary thyroid cancer

Age has been found to correlate with the prognosis for medullary thyroid cancer (MTC). This study was conducted to investigate whether age can predict long-term unfavorable prognosis and evaluate its predictive accuracy associated with TNM staging, using data of patients diagnosed with MTC between 2000 and 2010 from Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results database. The relationship between the patients’ age at diagnosis and cancer-specific survival (CSS) was evaluated using multivariate Cox regression analysis. Age stratifications were combined into a nomogram model to predict the CSS of MTC. The X-tile program determined 49 and 69 as optimal age cutoff values for CSS. On multivariate analysis, independent factors for survival were age (50–69 years, HR 2.853, 95% CI 1.631–4.991; ≥70 years, HR 5.804, 95% CI 2.91–11.555), race (white, HR 0.344, 95% CI 0.188–0.630), T (T3/4, HR 3.931, 95% CI 2.093–7.381), N (N1a, HR 3.269, 95% CI 1.386–7.710) and M (M1, HR 3.998, 95% CI 2.419–6.606). The C-index for CSS prediction with TNM, age (cutoff of 45)/sex/race/TNM and age (cutoff of 49 and 69)/sex/race/TNM were 0.832 (95% CI 0.763–0.901), 0.863 (95% CI 0.799–0.928), and 0.876 (95% CI 0.817–0.935), respectively. Subgroup multivariate analyses also showed that age significantly increased the risk for CSS in females, non-Hispanic white patients, and those with stage IV MTC. In conclusion, CSS was independently associated with ages between 49 and 69 years, which might be applied for risk stratification in MTC patients.