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Background Iodine excess has been suggested as an exogenous risk factor of papillary thyroid cancer (PTC). We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis to assess the relationship between iodine exposure measured in various forms and PTC prevalence. Methods We searched MEDLINE, Embase, and the Cochrane Library for case-control studies on iodine and PTC published up to December 2015. Exposure to iodine was compared between PTC and control groups. Results From the 16 selected studies, the odds ratio (OR) for the overall effect size between high iodine exposure and PTC risk was 1.418 (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.054-1.909). Based on 7 studies conducted in high iodinated regions, a positive association between iodine exposure and PTC was observed (OR 2.200; 95% CI 1.389-3.483). Conclusion This study demonstrated a higher exposure to iodine in patients with PTC compared with controls, especially for patients from high iodinated regions.

Background The purpose of this study was to evaluate the factors associated with diagnostic accuracy of preoperative fine-needle aspiration (FNA) for follicular variant papillary thyroid carcinoma (FVPTC). Methods The patients with FVPTC who underwent thyroidectomy were divided into 2 groups: “group A” (Bethesda category II, III, or IV) versus “group B” (category V or VI). Results A total of 225 patients (117 in group A and 108 in group B) were included. Group B was associated with older age, malignant ultrasonographic features, smaller tumor size, extrathyroidal extension, higher stage, and B-type Raf (BRAF)V600E mutation compared with group A. In multivariable analysis, malignant ultrasonographic features and tumor size ≤3.0 cm were independent predictive factors for group B. Conclusion FVPTCs >3.0 cm are unlikely to be diagnosed as category V or VI. Clinicians should keep FVPTC in mind and consider diagnostic lobectomy for the nodules regardless of FNA or ultrasonographic findings. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Head Neck, 2015

Background A nomogram could provide individualized prognostic for papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC). The purpose of our study was to develop and validate a new nomogram. Methods Consecutive patients with PTC from 2 different institutions were analyzed and divided into the development (n = 849) and validation (n = 275) sets. The former was used for formulating a nomogram in predicting disease-specific death and recurrence, whereas the latter was for validation (by area under the curve [AUC]). Results The nomogram had excellent discrimination in predicting 10-year disease-specific death and recurrence (0.984; 0.969–0.998; and 0.743; 0.658–0.828; respectively). A score