Cystic lymph node metastasis in papillary thyroid carcinoma

guided fine-needle aspiration biopsy. Summary. Background. Thyroid cancer, especially papillary carcinoma, metastasizes most often into cervical lymph nodes. Cervical ultrasound and ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration biopsy are the most sensitive modalities in detecting locoregional neck recurrence. Objective. The aim of this study was to illustrate the ultrasound spectrum of lymph node metastases from papillary thyroid carcinoma. Patients and methods. During 1998–2002 years due to suspicion of recurrence of thyroid cancer, 75 ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration biopsies of regional lymph nodes were performed. Ultrasound examination of 75 patients with thyroid cancer (56 women and 19 men; mean age of patients was 54.67±12.89 years) was performed. All biopsies were performed on nonpalpable lesions (lymph node short axis £1.5 cm). Results. A total of 75 ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration biopsies of regional lymph nodes under suspicion of malignancy were performed. Only 5 (6.7%) of the 75 lymph nodes were cystic with internal septation. Other 70 (93.3%) lymph nodes were solid. Cytopathological results of 75 ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration biopsies from regional cervical lymph nodes wer