title: A comparison of the clinicopathological features and prognoses of the classical and the tall cell variant of papillary thyroid cancer: a meta-analysis.
abstract: Papillary thyroid cancer (PTC) accounts for 80-90% of all thyroid malignancies. The tall cell variant (TCV) is a rare aggressive histotype of PTC. We performed a meta-analysis to compare the clinicopathological characteristics and prognostic factors of TCV with those of classical papillary thyroid carcinoma (cPTC). A literature search was performed using the PubMed and EMBASE databases using Medical Subject Headings and keywords. Twenty studies that included 1871 patients with TCV and 75323 patients with cPTC were included in our meta-analysis. Odds ratios and confidence intervals were calculated for each study. Patients with TCV were associated with multifocality, higher TNM stage, extrathyroidal extension, vascular invasion, lymph node metastasis, distant metastasis, BRAF mutation, disease-specific survival, and overall survival. We found that TCV cases were associated with more aggressive clinicopathological characteristics and poorer prognoses than cPTC cases were. Our results suggest that TCV is a high-risk PTC that warrants aggressive treatment and follow-up strategies.
authors.affiliation: Department of Breast and Thyroid Surgery, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China.
authors.forename: Zeming
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Zhongnan Hospital, Wuhan University, Wuhan, Hubei, China.
authors.forename: Wen
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Zeng
authors.affiliation: Department of Breast and Thyroid Surgery, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China.
authors.forename: Tianwen
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Department of Breast and Thyroid Surgery, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China.
authors.forename: Yawen
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China.
authors.forename: Chao
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Breast and Thyroid Surgery, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China.
authors.forename: Chunping
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Department of Breast and Thyroid Surgery, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China.
authors.forename: Tao
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Huang
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000235:genetics; D002291:Carcinoma, Papillary / Q000235:genetics / Q000401:mortality / Q000556:secondary* / Q000628:therapy; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D002648:Child; D018450:Disease Progression; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D005260:Female; D056726:Genetic Association Studies; D006801:Humans; D016014:Linear Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009154:Mutation; D009361:Neoplasm Invasiveness; D009364:Neoplasm Recurrence, Local; D009378:Neoplasms, Multiple Primary; D016017:Odds Ratio; D048493:Proto-Oncogene Proteins B-raf / Q000235:genetics; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012307:Risk Factors; D000077273:Thyroid Cancer, Papillary; D013964:Thyroid Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology* / Q000628:therapy; D013997:Time Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; C482119:BRAF protein, human; D048493:Proto-Oncogene Proteins B-raf
keywords: clinicopathological features; meta–analysis; mortality risk; papillary thyroid carcinoma; tall cell variant