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Pregnancy may cause papillary microcarcinoma enlargement
In a study that examined papillary microcarcinoma during pregnancy, the risk of the papillary microcarcinoma enlarging seemed to increase; however, the patient’s prognosis did not appear to worsen, according to research published in Thyroid.
In a retrospective study, researchers from Japan examined nine women with papillary microcarcinoma who became pregnant from 2005 to 2011 and compared them with 27 control patients who were not pregnant but had papillary microcarcinoma. All patients were age matched with a mean age of 30.7 years in the group that was pregnant and 31 years in the control group. Tumor size at initial diagnosis was not significantly different between the groups and follow-up times were the same in both groups.
At endpoint, enlargement of the papillary microcarcinoma, defined as an increase of at least 3 mm in tumor size, was found in 44% of the patients who were pregnant vs. 11.1% of the patients who were not pregnant (P=.0497). Three of the four patients who had significantly enlarged tumors underwent surgery for the tumor after delivery. The fourth patient was monitored as the tumor size decreased after delivery.
No association was found during pregnancy between tumor size and the changes in the serum thyroglobulin level or the serum thyrotropin level, the researchers said. Also, the estrogen receptor in the tumors of the patients who underwent surgery after delivery was not detected after immunohistochemical examinations. The researchers did not find an association between tumor size at diagnosis and enlargement of the tumor during pregnancy.
“In conclusion, thyroid [papillary microcarcinoma] should be carefully followed up for possible disease aggravation during pregnancy. Even if a [papillary microcarcinoma] enlarges during pregnancy, the patient’s prognosis will probably not worsen,” the researchers wrote.
Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.