Carbon nanoparticles beneficial for prophylactic central compartment lymph node dissection in cN0 papillary thyroid carcinoma

Ya-Qing Ren; Kai-Xuan He; Yan-Bo Dong; Yu-He Liu; Cheng Lu; Wan-Xin Li

doi:10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e23924

Carbon nanoparticles beneficial for prophylactic central compartment lymph node dissection in cN0 papillary thyroid carcinoma

Heliyon. 2023 Dec 18;10(1):e23924. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e23924. eCollection 2024 Jan 15.

Authors

Ya-Qing Ren¹, Kai-Xuan He², Yan-Bo Dong², Yu-He Liu², Cheng Lu², Wan-Xin Li²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Infectious Diseases, Beijing Friendship Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, 100050, China.
² Department of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, Beijing Friendship Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, 100050, China.

Abstract

Objective: This study explored prophylactic central compartment lymph node dissection (pCCLND) for patients with cN0 papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) and the effect of carbon nanoparticles (CNP) on surgical outcomes.

Methods: This retrospective study reviewed PTC cases treated at our tertiary medical institution between January 2019 and December 2022. Only patients with indications for total thyroidectomy and cN0 disease were included. CNP has been associated with a higher number of harvested lymph nodes and a lower rate of accidental parathyroid gland (PTG) removal. Patients who used CNP in this study were classified as group 1, while those who denied its use were classified as group 2.

Results: In total, 116 cases were included, with 80 patients in group 1 and 36 in group 2. Most patients were in stage T1, with 68 (85.0 %) patients in group 1 and 31 (86.1 %) in group 2. Postoperative hoarseness occurred in 3 (3.8 %) patients in group 1 and 1 (2.8 %) in group 2, which recovered within two months. In group 2, 250 nodes were harvested, 72 (28.8 %) of which were metastatic; in group 1, 889 nodes were harvested, 316 (35.5 %) of which were metastatic; the difference regarding the rates of metastatic lymph nodes between the 2 groups was statistically significant (P = 0.047). Differences in postoperative blood calcium and parathyroid hormone levels between the two groups were statistically significant (P = 0.035 and P = 0.034, respectively). There were symptoms of hypocalcemia in 6 (16.7 %) patients in group 2 but in only 2 (2.5 %) in group 1, all of which recovered within three months; the difference was statistically significant (p = 0.017).

Conclusion: pCCLND is worth undertaking for cN0 PTC. CNP is beneficial for achieving more thorough dissection and reducing temporary hypoparathyroidism.

Keywords: Carbon nanoparticles; Papillary thyroid carcinoma; Prophylactic central compartment lymph node dissection; Temporary hypocalcemia; Total thyroidectomy.