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Completed

NCT Number: NCT01089335

Sentinel Lymphnode in Patients With Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma and in Patients With Suspected Thyroid Neoplasia

The standard surgical treatment for highly differentiated papillary thyroid cancer > 10 mm according to recent national and international guidelines, is total thyroidectomy and central lymphnode clearance, and for patients with cytology indicating thyroid neoplasia of unclear malignant potential hemithyroidectomy on the side of the tumour.

The study investigates if the sentinel lymphnode (SN)

* Reliably (with high sensitivity and specificity), can predict the pathological findings of the lymphnodes in the central compartment in patients with highly differentiated papillary thyroid cancer * Is useful to aid in the final diagnosis and staging of thyroid neoplasias of unclear malignant potential, and could be used to select patients for further central lymphnode revision.

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Key information

Conditions

Thyroid Neoplasms Endocrine Gland Neoplasms Endocrine System Diseases Head and Neck Neoplasms Neoplasms Neoplasms by Site Thyroid Cancer Thyroid Diseases

Age range

18 year and older

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Observational

Primary location

Department of Surgery and Department of Imaging, Skåne University Hospital

Lund, 221 85, Sweden

About this study

The standard surgical treatment for highly differentiated papillary thyroid cancer > 10 mm according to recent national and international guidelines, is total thyroidectomy and central lymphnode clearance, and for patients with cytology indicating thyroid neoplasia of unclear malignant potential hemithyroidectomy on the side of the tumour.

There are however a number of clinical problems with these approaches:

  • For patients with papillary thyroid cancer, a significant proportion will receive unnecessary extensive surgical treatment
  • In papillary thyroid cancer, central lymphnode clearance increases the risk for complications, especially the risk for hypoparathyroidism.

According to a Scandinavian survey (Scandinavian Quality Register for Thyroid- and Parathyroid Surgery; www. thyroid-parathyroidsurgery.com),16 % of patients with unclear follicular neoplasia, will have a final histological diagnosis of thyroid cancer, and in half of them, this cancer will be of the papillary subtype. In patients with preoperatively suspected, but not proven malignancy by cytology, 30 % will receive a final histological diagnosis of thyroid cancer, and in these patients, 70 % will be of the papillary subtype. Typically these patients will undergo a second operation with a contralateral hemithyroidectomy. In many cases, due to risk for complications, central lymphnode clearance is avoided in these cases. Therefore, the staging of the cancer will be incomplete, and some patients will receive suboptimal surgical treatment.

The study is designed to compare SN investigation with the final histology of the central lymphnodes:

  • Pretracheal and bilateral paratracheal for patients with preoperatively diagnosed papillary thyroid cancer
  • Pretracheal and ipsilateral paratracheal for tumours of uncertain malignant potential on cytology

The identification of SN will be aided by preoperative ultrasound guided injection of 99m- Tc- nanocolloid albumin in the thyroid tumour. The results of the histological investigation of SN will be compared to that of the results from the central lymphnode clearance.

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: No

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

  • Patients with first time surgery for proven papillary thyroid cancer > 10 mm
  • Patients with first time surgery for a cytologic diagnosis of follicular neoplasia or suspected (not proven) malignancy

Exclusion criteria

  • Age below 18 years
  • Pregnancy or lactation
  • Inability to understand written and oral information or to comply with scheduled follow-up

Treatment and study plan

Histological investigation of the SN

Procedure

99m Tc- nanocolloid albumin, 10-15 MBq (volume 0.1-0.3 ml) is injected under ultrasound guidance in the thyroid tumour. Imaging (lymphoscintigraphy)with anterior and oblique projections is performed at 60 and 120 min after the injection. SN are mapped intraoperatively by a dedicated SN navigator and excised for final histology.

Primary outcomes

  1. Sensitivity and specificity of SN histology compared with the final histology of the non SN central lymph nodes (metastasis or no metastasis)

    Time frame: 14 days

    The histological investigation of the sentinel lymph node(s) (recorded as metastasis or no metastasis), will be compared to the definitive histological investigation of the non SN central lymphnodes (metastasis or no metastasis), cleared by surgery. Sensitivity and specificity of the histological SN investigation to predict the histological outcome of the non SN central lymphnodes (metastasis or no metastasis), will be calculated.

Secondary outcomes

  1. Sensitivity of 99mTc-nanocolloid albumin in the diagnosis of a sentinel lymphnode

    Time frame: 1 day

    99mTc-nanocolloid albumin will be injected under guidence by ultrasonography. The sensitivity to detect a SN on preoperative imaging (detected SN on imaging/total number of investigations) and during surgery by a collimated probe for SN mapping(SN detected/total number of operations), will be calculated.

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

Region Skane

Other

Registry information

Official study title

Sentinel Node Investigation in Patients With Highly Differentiated Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma and in Patients With Thyroid Neoplasia of Unclear Malignant Potential

Acronym: SNTC

Important dates

Study start
2010
Primary completion
2018
Study completion
2018
First posted
Mar 18, 2010
Registry last updated
Mar 28, 2019

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

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