Clinicopathological Significance of Minimal Extrathyroid Extension in Solitary Papillary Thyroid Carcinomas

Background. The definitive diagnosis of minimal extrathyroid extension (ETE) is subjective because a well-defined true capsule is absent in the thyroid gland. We subclassified the extent of minimal ETE and investigated the clinicopathological significance of the presence of minimal ETE in patients with solitary papillary thyroid carcinomas (PTCs) and solitary papillary thyroid microcarcinomas (PTMCs). Methods. A series of 546 patients with solitary PTCs, including 144 patients with solitary PTMCs, were retrospectively analyzed. Whether the presence of minimal ETE had an effect on recurrence-free survival (RFS) along with other clinicopathological parameters was investigated. Results. The only independent prognostic factor found to be associated with recurrence was the presence of LN metastasis in solitary PTC (p = 0.002) but not in solitary PTMC groups (p = 0.073). The presence of minimal ETE had no effect on RFS in both solitary PTC (p = 0.053) and solitary PTMC (p = 0.816). Conclusions. The presence of minimal ETE has no significant influence on RFS in solitary PTC and PTMC. There is a risk of overrepresenting the T3 category in solitary PTC and PTMC patients with minimal ETE.