No Association of Preablation Thyroglobulin Antibody Positivity and Outcome in Pediatric Patients With Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma

ObjectiveThis multicenter study was designed to evaluate the relationship between preablation thyroglobulin antibody (TgAb) positivity and clinical outcomes in pediatric patients with papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC).MethodsIn the period 2005-2020, all consecutive PTC patients 18 years or younger who underwent total thyroidectomy and radioiodine ablation at 3 tertiary hospitals in southwestern China were retrospectively included. Thyroglobulin antibody was measured before remnant ablation. Tumor characteristics and long-term outcomes were compared between TgAb-positive and TgAb-negative patients.ResultsOne hundred thirty-two patients were analyzed. Preablation TgAb positivity was presented in 37.1% of patients. Tumor characteristics, lymph node metastases, and median duration of follow-up were similar between TgAb-positive and -negative patients. During follow-up, the percentage of patients with either surgical reintervention for lymph node metastases (4.1% vs 4.8%, P = 1.000) or repeated I-131 therapy (14.3% vs 20.5%, P = 0.373) was similar between TgAb-positive and -negative patients. At the final follow-up visit, the rates of structural disease did not differ between the 2 groups (6.1% vs 4.8%, P = 0.710).ConclusionsThis multicentric study highlights no association of preablation TgAb positivity and clinical outcome in pediatric patients with PTC.