@entity259 ( @entity259 ) is usually diagnosed at a clinical stage often associated with lymph node involvement. Hence surgical treatment does not result in definitive cure in many @entity1 . Studies have demonstrated that routine measurement of serum basal calcitonin (CT) in @entity1 with nodular @entity1374 allows preoperative, early diagnosis of unsuspected @entity259 . The aim of this work was to assess the results of surgery in @entity1 operated on for subclinical @entity259 detected preoperatively by measurement of serum CT. Results were compared with those obtained in @entity1 with SMTCs diagnosed at a clinical stage and operated on during the same period. During a 4-year period (1993-1996) 24 SMTCs were diagnosed and treated in our department. They were diagnosed at a clinical stage in 13 @entity1 (group 1): palpable @entity259 (n = 11), palpable metastatic lymph node (n = 6), distant @entity3 (n = 4). In nine cases the diagnosis was made by both fine-needle aspiration cytology and serum CT measurement. In the four other cases the initial cytology was incorrect, but the diagnosis was revised on the basis of elevated basal CT values. In 11 @entity1 (group 2) presenting with nodular @entity1374 , @entity259 was not clinically detectable. @entity259 was preoperatively suspected by elevated CT levels: basal CT > 10 pg/ml and pentagastrin-stimulated CT peak > 100 pg/ml. One @entity1 in group 1 with distant @entity3 was not operated on. All of the other 12 @entity1 underwent total thyroidectomy and extensive lymph node dissection. The mean size of the @entity5 was 27 mm. Lymph node involvement was found in nine @entity1 . After surgery, CT levels returned to normal in five @entity1 but remained elevated in five others; the two remaining @entity1 died of distant @entity3 . All 11 @entity1 in group 2 underwent total thyroidectomy and central neck dissection. None of the 11 @entity1 had nodal extension. All 11 @entity1 are biochemically cured. It was concluded that routine measurement of basal serum CT in those with nodular @entity1374 allows early, preoperative diagnosis of subclinical @entity259 and improves the results of surgery.

Latent subclinical XXXX : diagnosis and treatment.

@entity1 :: ('9606', 'Species') :: ['patients', 'patient'] @entity5 :: ('MESH:D009369', 'Disease') :: ['tumors'] @entity3 :: ('MESH:D009362', 'Disease') :: ['metastases'] @entity259 :: ('MESH:D013964', 'Disease') :: ['Sporadic medullary thyroid carcinoma', 'thyroid tumor', 'SMTC'] @entity1374 :: ('MESH:D013959', 'Disease') :: ['thyroid disease']
@entity259 :: (MESH:D013964,Disease) :: ['medullary thyroid carcinoma']
