Objective This study aimed to investigate the predictive value of preoperative serum CA19-9 level for lymph node micrometastasis in patients with lymph node metastasis-negative gastric cancer and its effect on prognosis. Methods Clinicopathological data were retrospectively collected from 176 cases of gastric cancer who underwent D2 radical surgery in our hospital between January 2006 and December 2011, and also collected the patients’ lymph node tissue specimens. All patients were confirmed by pathologic examination of lymph node metastasis-negative. Quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) was used to detect the presence of lymph node micrometastasis in lymph node tissues. Sixty cases of gastric cancer were selected to construct the receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) of preoperative serum CA19-9 level to predict lymph node micrometastasis, then established the threshold value. The remaining 116 cases were used to validate the rationality of this threshold. In addition, we explored the impact of preoperative serum CA19-9 level on the prognosis of patients with lymph node metastasis-negative gastric cancer, and explored the risk factors of lymph node micrometastasis. Results ① Results of ROC curve: the preoperative serum CA19-9 level of 15.5 U/mL was the threshold for predicting lymph node micrometastasis, with a sensitivity of 93.1%, specificity of 63.6%, and area under the curve (AUC) of 0.84 (P=0.003). With 15.5 U/mL as the threshold, 116 patients were divided into positive group and negative group. The lymph node micrometastasis rates in the 2 groups were different, which was higher in the positive group than that in the negative group (P<0.001). ② Effect of preoperative serum CA19-9 level on prognosis: the patients were divided into the positive group and the negative group with 15.5 U/mL as the threshold, and the log-rank test showed that the survival of the negative group was better than that of the positive group (P=0.001). ③ The risk factors for lymph node micrometastasis: the logistic regression model showed that preoperatively positive serum CA19-9 was an independent risk factor for lymph node micrometastasis in patients with gastric cancer [OR=1.860, 95% CI was (1.720, 2.343), P<0.001]. Conclusion Preoperative serum CA19-9 level can be used to predict lymph node micrometastasis in lymph node metastasis-negative patients with gastric cancer.
Objective To explore the risk factors the central cervical lymph node micrometastasis of papillary thyroid microcarcinoma (PTMC). Methods PTMC patients who underwent surgical operations in West China Hospital, Sichuan University between January 2014 and December 2018 were retrospectively enrolled. The patient did not find lymph node metastasis in the central cervical area by preoperative ultrasound. During the operation, the central cervical lymph node of the affected side was dissected or lymph node dissection in the central area of the affected side of the neck plus the lateral area of the neck. With postoperative pathology as the gold standard, patients were divided into central cervical lymph node micrometastasis group (micrometastasis group) and central cervical lymph node non-metastasis group (non-metastasis group). The differences of clinical features and ultrasonic signs between the two groups were analyzed. Results A total of 507 patients were included, including 223 (44.0%) in the micrometastasis group and 284(56.0%) in the non-metastasis group. The results of univariate analysis showed that compared with the non-metastasis group, the patients in the micrometastasis group were younger, the tumor size were higher, the proportion of male, multifocality, bilateral involvement and thyroid capsular invasion were higher. The results of multiple logistic regression analysis showed that lower age [odds radio (OR)=0.967, 95% confidence interval (CI)(0.949, 0.985), P<0.001], male [OR=2.357, 95%CI (1.503, 3.694), P<0.001)], a larger maximum diameter of PTMC [OR=1.232, 95%CI (1.100, 1.379), P<0.001], a larger nodule volume of PTMC [OR=1.031, 95%CI (1.008, 1.114), P=0.032], multifocal lesion [OR=2.309, 95%CI (1.167, 4.570), P=0.016] and invasion of the thyroid capsule [OR=1.520, 95%CI (1.010, 2.286), P=0.045] were independent risk factors for central cervical lymph node micrometastasis. Conclusions The patient’s male, young age, PTMC nodule with large maximum diameter and large volume, multifocal, and invasion of the thyroid membrane are risk factors for the central cervical lymph node micrometastasis of PMTC patients. These clinical and ultrasound signs can provide a theoretical basis for doctors’ clinical management decisions.