The Characteristic Clinical and Pathological Features of Incidental and Non-Incidental Papillary Microcarcinoma of the Thyroid

The incidence of papillary microcarcinoma (PMC) keeps raising due to fine needle aspiration (FNA) biopsies and the pathologic evaluation of thyroid specimens of cases operated for benign thyroid disorders. The files of 78 patients who underwent surgery between January 2006 and May 2013 in our department and were diagnosed with PMC were analyzed, retrospectively.Cases were grouped as incidental and non-incidental depending on the preoperative diagnosis. The diameter of the nodules in the preoperativeultrasonographic examination, pathological parameters such as tumor size, bilaterality, multifocality,and capsular invasion were found significantly high in non-incidental group(P<0.05). No significant difference was detected between the two groups’ age, sex, and vascular invasion.Preoperative radiologic examination by experienced radiologists and FNA performed for suspicious nodules may increase the rate of early and correct diagnosis. In our opinion, determining the most useful criteria for malignancy will help to detect incidental PMC in cases followed up for multinodular goiter.