Low-risk papillary microcarcinoma of the thyroid: A review of active surveillance trials

Abstract

Papillary microcarcinoma (PMC) of the thyroid is defined as papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) measuring ≤1 cm. Many autopsy studies on subjects who died of non-thyroidal diseases reported latent small thyroid carcinoma in up to 5.2% of the subjects. A mass screening study for thyroid cancer in Japanese adult women detected small thyroid cancer in 3.5% of the examinees. This incidence was close to the incidence of latent thyroid cancer and more than 1000 times the prevalence of clinical thyroid cancer in Japanese women reported at that time. The question of whether it was correct to treat such PMCs surgically then arose. In 1993, according to Dr. Miyauchi's proposal, Kuma Hospital initiated an active surveillance trial for low-risk PMC as defined in the text. In 1995, Cancer Institute Hospital in Tokyo, Japan, started a similar observation trial. The accumulated data from the trials at these two institutions strongly suggest that active surveillance (i.e., observation without immediate surgery) can be the first-line management for low-risk PMC. Although our data showed that young age and pregnancy might be risk factors of disease progression, we think that these patients can also be candidates for active surveillance, because all of the patients who showed progression signs were treated successfully with a rescue surgery, and none of them died of PTC. In this review, we summarize the data regarding the active surveillance of low-risk PMC as support for physicians and institutions that are considering adopting this strategy.