To investigate the clinical characteristics of papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) complicated by multinodular goiter (MG).

The clinical data of 130 PTC patients treated in the First People’s Hospital of Zhaoqing from July 2013 to July 2017 were retrospectively reviewed. Among them, 88 patients with nodular goiter were selected and were treated as PTC combined with MG group, and 42 patients without nodular goiter were selected and were treated as PTC group. The differences in clinical characteristics, such as age, gender, location of lesions, nodule diameter, lymph node metastasis, ultrasonographic features and postoperative complications were compared between the two groups.

The incidence of papillary thyroid microcarcinoma(PTMC), age of PTC, location of lesions and rate of cervical lymph node metastasis were significantly different between PTC combined with MG group and PTC group (P<0.05), there was no significant difference in the gender, maximum diameter of nodule and incidence of hyperthyroidism between the two groups(P>0.05). In the field of ultrasound imaging, the characteristics of cancer, including echo, nature, density, boundary, internal blood flow, calcification and lymph node enlargement, were not significantly different between the two groups (P>0.05). There was no severe complication occurred in the two groups.

PTC complicated by MG goiter often occurs in women over 40 years old. The main form is PTMC, cancer is often located in the unilateral leaf gland, and incidence of lymph node metastasis in early stage is low, and there are some general rules that can be followed in ultrasound characteristics.

Papillary thyroid carcinoma; Multinodular goiter; Clinical characteristics