An anatomic checklist for accurate staging of grossly invasive thyroid cancer
Authors' conclusion
A surgeon-completed anatomic checklist allows pathologists to more accurately stage grossly invasive thyroid cancers. This rapidly completed form eliminates the need for pathologists to analyze the operative note and facilitates both risk of recurrence and AJCC stage determination.
Study context
- Population
- Patients with gross extrathyroidal or extranodal extension of thyroid cancer29 primary resections
- Participants
- 35 patients
- Comparison
- Surgeon-completed anatomic checklist plus operative note vs operative report alone
- Checklistn = 15
- No checklistn = 14reference
- Outcome
- AJCC staging accuracy of final pathology reports
Methodological detailsconsecutive patients, Surgeon A initially dictated only an operative report, then submitted a checklist for his final six cases; Surgeon B submitted a checklist
- Consecutive patients
- Surgeon A initially dictated only an operative report, then submitted a checklist for his final six cases; Surgeon B submitted a checklist
Main finding
As reported in the abstract
Accurate AJCC staging in final pathology reports
Checklist
All 15 accurately staged
15 of 15
No checklist
13 of 14 understaged
13 of 14
P < 0.01, Fisher exact test, two-tailed
Further findings
Recurrent cases without checklist
- All final pathology reports failed to define the anatomic parts resected
Time to complete checklist
- Time to complete the checklist
- less than 90 s
Original publication
An anatomic checklist for accurate staging of grossly invasive thyroid cancer. Eur Thyroid J. Published 13 February 2025. doi:10.
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