OCCULT PAPILLARY CARCINOMA OF THE THYROID - A QUESTIONABLE ENTITY

A series of 72 cases of ''occult'' thyroid papillary cancer, i.e. tumo urs of less than 1.5 cm in diameter, was analysed. The patients-26 mal es and 46 females-were treated surgically, 25 by lobectomy and isthmus ectomy and 47 by total thyroidectomy. In 51 cases nodal neck dissectio n was performed, bilateral in 2 cases. 9 thyroidectomised patients rec eived radiometabolic therapy. Hormone therapy (T4) was continuously ad ministered to 57 patients. The median duration of follow-up was 99 mon ths (60-189). All the patients were alive (except one who died from ot her causes) and free of disease at last control. No relapses in the th yroid were observed in the conservatively treated patients. 2 patients of the 47 radically operated upon subsequently presented nodal metast asis and underwent neck dissection. The so-called ''occult'' thyroid p apillary cancer does not differ from other papillary cancers with resp ect to morphological, clinical and prognostic factors-it differs only in size. Considering occult papillary tumours as an entity is question ed in this paper.