title: Relationship between lymphovascular invasion and clinicopathological features of papillary thyroid carcinoma.
abstract: Lymphovascular invasion (LVI) is an important prognostic factor in various solid tumors, however, data on the association between LVI and thyroid carcinomas are limited. In this study, we evaluated the relationship between LVI and clinicopathological features of papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC). Six hundred seventy-eight patients diagnosed with PTC between 2012 and 2015 were included into the study. Patients were classified based on the presence or absence of LVI. Gender, age, ultrasonography (US), tumor size and multifocality, BRAFV600E mutation, perineural and capsular invasion, extrathyroid extension (ETE), nodal metastasis, and recurrences were evaluated, and risk analysis was performed for each parameter. The number of patients with LVI [LVI (+)] was 63, while the number of patients without LVI [LVI (-)] was 615. The female/male ratio was 564/114. LVI was present in 18.4% of male patients and in 7.4 % of female patients. In the age group between 17-25 years LVI was detected in 6/13 patients, and this result was statistically significant compared to other age groups (p = 0.004). Suspicious lymph nodes upon US, perineural or capsular invasion, ETE, tumor size, and nodal metastasis were significantly more frequent in LVI (+) group (p < 0.001). The frequency of BRAFV600E mutation was also significantly higher in LVI (+) group (p < 0.001). Overall, the presence of LVI was associated with gender, tumor size, age, lymph node metastasis, pathological lymph nodes, perineural and capsular invasion, ETE, and BRAFV600E mutation. These results suggest that in PTC patients undergoing thyroidectomy, the presence of LVI should be considered as an indicator of aggressive clinicopathological features and those patients should be followed up carefully for recurrences and metastasis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, Trakya University, Edirne, Turkey. atakansezer@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Atakan
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sezer
authors.forename: Mehmet
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Celik
authors.forename: Buket
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Yilmaz Bulbul
authors.forename: Nuray
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Can
authors.forename: Ebru
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Tastekin
authors.forename: Semra
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ayturk
authors.forename: Funda
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Ustun
authors.forename: Sibel
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Guldiken
authors.forename: Necdet
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Sut
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002291:Carcinoma, Papillary / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000235:genetics / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008198:Lymph Nodes / Q000473:pathology; D008207:Lymphatic Metastasis; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009154:Mutation; D009362:Neoplasm Metastasis; D009364:Neoplasm Recurrence, Local; D048493:Proto-Oncogene Proteins B-raf / Q000235:genetics; D000077273:Thyroid Cancer, Papillary; D013964:Thyroid Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000235:genetics / Q000473:pathology*; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D048493:Proto-Oncogene Proteins B-raf