초록
Background and Objectives : Serum stimulated thyroglobulin(stim Tg) was well-known for useful marker in detecting of recurrent or persistent papillary thyroid cancer after total thyroidectomy. Serum stim Tg level may be possibly related with recurrent tumor volume, but rarely studied. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between preoperative serum stim Tg level and recurrent tumor burden and to find additional clinical usefulness of stim Tg more than to detect a recurrence. Material and Methods : From January 2000 to December 2009, 40 patients who were operated due to neck recurrence of papillary thyroid cancer after total thyroidectomy were enrolled. All patients had preoperative stim Tg. We compared the clinical correlation of stim Tg and other variables to influence the preoperative stim Tg levels. Results : Preoperative stim Tg levels weren't correlated with site of recurrence, number of metastasis, maximal size, and presence of extra-capsular spread. But considerable increase of stim Tg more than 50ng/mL was identified in recurrence of lateral neck. Patients who have higher stim Tg level after surgery tend to be have higher preoperative stim Tg level. Conclusion : stim Tg was not elevated in 7.5% of recurrent PTC patients. Thus, other diagnostic modalities such as US may be important for these patients. If preoperative stim Tg was more than 50ng/mL, it may suggest recurrence in lateral neck and have less possibility to achieve postoperative biochemical remission.
