Refining the eighth edition AJCC TNM classification and prognostic groups for papillary thyroid cancer with lateral nodal metastasis

Papillary thyroid cancer (PTC) is one of the most common cancers, with an incidence rate that continues to rise annually. The cancer is usually indolent with excellent prognosis, but cases with lateral nodal metastasis (N1b) require extended neck surgery and are considered to have relatively poor prognosis [1 –3]. In the seventh American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) TNM staging system, all N1b patients 45 years or older were classified as stage IV regardless of other factors [4,5], and the mortality risk of N1b was therefore exaggerated [6].

Source: Oral Oncology - January 27, 2018 Category: Cancer & Oncology Authors: Hye In Kim, Kyunga Kim, So Young Park, Jun-Ho Choe, Jung-Han Kim, Jee Soo Kim, Young Lyun Oh, Soo Yeon Hahn, Jung Hee Shin, Hyeon Seon Ahn, Sun Wook Kim, Tae Hyuk Kim, Jae Hoon Chung Source Type: research