Aggressive resection of the airway invaded by thyroid carcinoma.
BACKGROUND
The aim of this study was to investigate the hypothesis that outcome following concomitant airway resection is superior to that after shaving of the tumour in patients with airway invasion of thyroid carcinoma.


METHODS
The records of 34 patients with thyroid cancer with airway invasion were reviewed retrospectively. In addition to total thyroidectomy, airway resection was performed in 18 patients (group 1), whereas the tumour was shaved away from the airway in the other 16 patients (group 2). 131I was used as postoperative adjuvant therapy in all patients. Metastasis and recurrence of the primary lesion were determined by 131I whole-body scans, serum thyroglobulin levels, and computed tomography or ultrasonography of the neck.


RESULTS
In group 1, two anastomotic dehiscences resulted in one death. Patients in group 2 had a higher rate of local recurrence (relative risk 8.0, P = 0.013) and earlier recurrence (mean(s.e.m.) 2.6(0.8) versus 7.0(1.1) years; P = 0.026) than those in group 1. Median survival was 5.8 and 4.3 years in the 18 patients of group 1 and 16 patients of group 2 (P = 0.259), and the respective 5-year survival rates were 88 and 84 per cent (P = 0.783).


CONCLUSIONS
Aggressive airway resection can minimize local recurrence of thyroid carcinoma with airway invasion.
Tsai
Y-F
YF
Department of Surgery, National Cheng Kung University Hospital, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan, Republic of China.
Tseng
Y-L
YL
Wu
M-H
MH
Hung
C-J
CJ
Lai
W-W
WW
Lin
M-Y
MY
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001984:Bronchial Neoplasms / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009361:Neoplasm Invasiveness; D009364:Neoplasm Recurrence, Local / Q000517:prevention & control; D016019:Survival Analysis; D013964:Thyroid Neoplasms / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D013965:Thyroidectomy / Q000379:methods*; D016896:Treatment Outcome