The study aimed to identify the clinical characteristics of coexisting chronic lymphocytic thyroiditis (CLT) in papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) and to evaluate the influence on prognosis. A total of 1,357 patients who underwent thyroid surgery for PTC were included. The clinicopathological characteristics were identified. Patients who underwent total thyroidectomy (n = 597) were studied to evaluate the influence of coexistent CLT on prognosis. Among the total 1,357 patients, 359 (26.5%) had coexistent CLT. In the CLT group, the prevalence of females was higher than in the control group without CLT (P < 0.001). Mean tumor size and mean age in the patients with CLT were smaller than without CLT (P = 0.040, P = 0.047, respectively). Extrathyroidal extension in the patients with CLT was significantly lower than without CLT (P = 0.016). Among the subset of 597 patients, disease-free survival rate in the patients with CLT was significantly higher than without CLT (P = 0.042). However, the multivariate analysis did not reveal a negative association between CLT coexistence and recurrence. Patients with CLT display a greater female preponderance, smaller size, younger and lower extrathyroidal extension. CLT is not a significant independent negative predictive factor for recurrence, although presence of CLT indicates a reduced risk of recurrence.
Adult ; Carcinoma/complications/*diagnosis/surgery ; Carcinoma, Papillary/complications/*diagnosis/surgery ; Disease-Free Survival ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Hashimoto Disease/complications/mortality/*pathology ; Humans ; Lymphatic Metastasis ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Neoplasm Staging ; Odds Ratio ; Predictive Value of Tests ; Prognosis ; Recurrence ; Sex Factors ; Survival Rate ; Thyroid Neoplasms/complications/*diagnosis/surgery ; Thyroidectomy