Thermal Ablation Versus Thyroid Lobectomy for Subcapsular Papillary Thyroid Microcarcinoma: A Multicenter Retrospective Study
Authors' conclusion
In eligible patients with subcapsular PTMC, TA and TL exhibit comparable 5-year disease progression rates and PFS rates.
Study context
- Population
- Patients with unifocal clinical node-negative subcapsular papillary thyroid microcarcinoma (PTMC), 3 referral centers, June 2014 to December 2020519 per group after matching
- Participants
- 536 vs 740
- Exposure
- Thermal ablation vs thyroid lobectomy
- Thermal ablation (TA)n = 536
- Thyroid lobectomy (TL)n = 740reference
- Outcome
- Disease progression and progression-free survival (PFS)
Methodological detailsmulticentre, propensity score matching, inverse probability of treatment weighting
- Multicentre
- Propensity score matching
- Inverse probability of treatment weighting
Main finding
As reported in the abstract
median follow-up 60.1 (42.0) months
Disease progression rates, TA vs TL
4.0% vs 2.7%
5-year PFS rates, TA vs TL
95.8% vs 97.2%
Observational data: associations, not effects.
Secondary outcomes
| Outcome | P value |
|---|---|
| PFS, TA vs occult LNM-positive and pathologic local invasion-positive TL subgroupsTA vs Occult LNM-positive · no significant difference · inverse probability of treatment weighting | P = 0.97 |
| PFS, TA vs occult LNM-positive and pathologic local invasion-positive TL subgroupsTA vs Pathologic local invasion-positive · no significant difference · inverse probability of treatment weighting | P = 0.66 |
Safety
Complication rates · lower with TA
P = 0.01
Original publication
Thermal Ablation Versus Thyroid Lobectomy for Subcapsular Papillary Thyroid Microcarcinoma: A Multicenter Retrospective Study. Endocr Pract. Published 26 February 2026. doi:10.
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