Clinical implications of microscopic extrathyroidal extension in patients with papillary thyroid carcinoma

Papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) is the most common thyroid malignancy, accounting for ∼90% of all thyroid carcinomas [1]. It is a differentiated carcinoma with a relatively good prognosis and a low mortality rate. However, PTC frequently spreads to the cervical lymph nodes (LN), which is associated with a higher locoregional recurrence. Various clinicopathological factors, including age, gender, tumor size, extrathyroidal extension (ETE), and distant metastasis, are associated with the prognosis of PTC [2–4].

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