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

OBJECTIVE: This 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). METHODS: In 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. RESULTS: One 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 131 I 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). CONCLUSIONS: This multicentric study highlights no association of preablation TgAb positivity and clinical outcome in pediatric patients with PTC.