Angiography-proven liver metastases explain low efficacy of lymph node dissections in medullary thyroid cancer patients

• DOI: 10.1016/j.ejso.2004.06.011
• Publication Date: 2004-12-15T23:48:13Z
• Authors: P. Szavcsur; M. Gődény; G. Bajzik; E. Lengyel; I. Repa; L. Trón; A. Boér; B. Vincze; Z. Póti; I. Szabolcs; O. Ésik
• Keywords: Medullary Thyroid Cancer

To report the role of liver angiography in the staging of medullary thyroid cancer (MTC) patients.Sixty MTC patients with persistent or recurrent hypercalcitonemia (n=49), a characteristic general symptom (diarrhea, n=4) or a normal basal calcitonin level without general symptoms (n=7) were investigated by dynamic liver CT, MRI and angiography between 06/1998 and 06/2002.Dual-phase CT and MRI investigations identified hepatic metastases with relatively low frequency (8/58 on MRI, and 7/60 on CT). Angiography indicated liver involvement in 54/60 cases. The hepatic metastases were typically multiple, hypervascular, small foci (only 13 foci measured >/=10 mm). With one exception significant disease progression was not observed over 5 years of follow-up.Liver angiography is a powerful tool to reveal hepatic metastases in MTC patients. Frequent, inoperable liver metastases in hypercalcitoninemic MTC patients demonstrate that secondary lymph node dissection is an inefficient technique for restoration of a normal calcitonin level.