ArticleGland surgery2024
Treatment outcomes in patients with papillary thyroid cancer undergoing radiofrequency ablation of metastatic lymph nodes.
Article in Gland surgery, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
3 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Safety and Efficacy of Thermal Ablation for Cervical Lymph Node Metastasis from Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma: A Systematic Review of Available Evidence.Medical sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Pooled it
- Thermal ablation for radioactive iodine refractory cervical lymph node metastasis in differentiated thyroid cancer.European radiology · 2026Article
- Horner syndrome as a complication of ultrasound-guided ablation therapy for thyroid nodules: a scoping review.Frontiers in endocrinology · 2025Article
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Authors and funding
9 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Background: Lymph node metastases in papillary thyroid cancer (PTC) increases recurrence risk and negatively impact survival. Traditional treatments like re-operation and radioactive iodine (RAI) have downsides. Radiofrequency ablation (RFA) is an emerging non-surgical therapeutic option, but there is seldom data on its efficacy and safety specifically for metastatic lymph nodes. We aimed to evaluate clinical outcomes of RFA applied to cervical lymph nodes in patients with PTC metastasis in North American population. Methods: This was a single-institution retrospective analysis of 68 PTC patients with lymph nodes who underwent percutaneous RFA from January 2020 to December 2022. Volume reduction ratio (VRR), changes in thyroglobulin (Tg) levels, lymph node regrowth rate, and complications were assessed. Treatment response and outcomes were analyzed. Results: Median lymph node maximum diameter was 12.9 mm and median volume was 0.27 mL at baseline. After RFA, median VRR was 79.5% [interquartile range (IQR), 50-89.7%]. Post-RFA, Tg to an average of 0.2 ng/mL (IQR, 0-0.6 ng/mL). In the 19 patients (27.9%) with undetectable Tg after RFA, median VRR was 86% (IQR, 73-94%). Quantitative Tg decrease strongly correlated with VRR percentage (r=0.82, P<0.001). Lymph node regrowth was seen in 5 patients (7.4%) over median 18 months follow-up. Only one patient experienced transient thermal injury associated with Horner's syndrome and symptoms resolved within 1 month. Conclusions: In patients with PTC and metastatic cervical lymph nodes, RFA provided marked volume reduction and meaningful biochemical response without major complications. Excellent radiographic control was achieved in most patients. RFA demonstrates early promise as an emerging non-surgical therapeutic option for PTC patients with metastatic lymph nodes.
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