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Arch Iran Med
Arch Iran Med
Arch Iran Med
AIM
Archives of Iranian Medicine
1029-2977
1735-3947
1029-2977
Academy of Medical Sciences of I.R. Iran

10.34172/aim.31856
Correction
Correction to "Effects of Patient and Tumor Characteristics on Central Lymph Node Metastasis in Papillary Thyroid Cancer: a Guide for Selective Node Dissection"
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6118-9984
Altiner Saygin 1
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3835-8759
Kozan Ramazan 2 *
Cihangir Emral Ahmet 3
Taneri Ferit 2
Karamercan Ahmet 2
1Department of General Surgery, University of Health Sciences, Ankara Training and Research Hospital, Ankara, Turkey
2Department of General Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, Gazi University, Ankara, Turkey
3Department of General Surgery, Sincan State Hospital, Ankara, Turkey
* Corresponding Author: Ramazan Kozan, Emails: dr.kozan@hotmail.com & ramazankozan@gazi.edu.tr
8 2024
01 8 2024
01 8 2024
27 8 466467
07 5 2024
15 6 2024
© 2024 The Author(s).
2024
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
https://journalaim.com
Cite this article as: Altiner S, Kozan R, Emral AC, Taneri F, Karamercan A. Correction to "effects of patient and tumor characteristics on central lymph node metastasis in papillary thyroid cancer: a guide for selective node dissection". Arch Iran Med. 2024;27(8):466-467. doi: 10.34172/aim.31856
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pmcDear Editor,

We have carefully reviewed the letter regarding our article titled “Effects of Patient and Tumor Characteristics on Central Lymph Node Metastasis in Papillary Thyroid Cancer: A Guide for Selective Node Dissection”.1 We sincerely appreciate the valuable comments and attention given by Shahraki HR.2

We have re-examined the data set and statistical analyses retrospectively, and we also thoroughly reviewed all the analyses. We acknowledge that there were errors in transferring the results to the tables during the stage of presenting the outcomes associated with the conduct of univariate and multivariate analyses by different individuals. Additionally, we recognize that providing more detailed information in the tables would strengthen the comprehensibility of our study. Consequently, in the multiple logistic regression, we have reported odds ratios for individual categories by accepting one category as the baseline for quantitative variables with more than two categories.

However, it is essential to emphasize that these corrections have not led to any changes in the findings and conclusions of our study.

Below are the revised and detailed Table 2 and Table 3, reflecting the numerical changes in the results of univariate and multivariable analyses. The corrected paragraph in the “Results” section reads as follows:

Table 2 Factors Affecting Central Lymph Node Metastasis

Factors	CLNM (-)	CLNM (+)	P Value	OR	95% CI	
n	%	n	%	
Age group (n = 255)								
 < 45 years	71	40.1%	106	59.9%	0.016	1.00	0.30-0.89	
 ≥ 45 years	44	56.4%	34	43.6%	0.52	
χ2 = 5.808	
Sex (n = 255)								
Men	20	32.8%	41	67.2%	0.027	1.97	1.07-3.60	
Women	95	49.0%	99	51.0%	1.00	
χ2 = 4.908	
Intra-thyroidal localization (n = 236)								
Superior	45	69.2%	20	30.8%	 < 0.001	0.13	0.06-0.28	
Middle	22	48.9%	23	51.1%	0.29	0.13-0.69	
Inferior	13	22.0%	46	78.0%	1.00		
Isthmus/junction	15	37.5%	25	62.5%	0.47	0.19-1.14	
Multilobar	9	33.3%	18	66.7%	0.56	0.21-1.55	
χ2 = 30.705	
Tumor subtype (n = 255)								
Classic	80	43.2%	105	56.8%	0.010	1.00		
Follicular variant	30	61.2%	19	38.8%	0.48	0.25-0.92	
Others	5	23.8%	16	76.2%	2.43	0.86-6.94	
χ2 = 9.248	
Lymphovascular invasion (n = 255)								
No	99	94.3%	6	5.7%	 < 0.001	1.00	52.20-365.83	
Yes	16	10.7%	134	89.3%	138.19	
χ2 = 174,424	
Extracapsular invasion (n = 255)								
No	114	46.9%	129	53.1%	0.020	1.00	1.24-76.47	
Yes	1	8.3%	11	91.7%	9.72	
χ2 = 6.874	
CLNM, central lymph node metastasis; OR, odds ratio; CI, confidence interval.

Table 3 Independent Predictive Factors of Central Lymph Node Metastasis in Multivariate Analysis

Factors	OR	95% CI	P Value	
Age group		0.09-0.81	0.020	
 < 45 years	1.00	
 ≥ 45 years	0.27	
Sex		1.16-15.63	0.029	
Men	4.26	
Women	1.00	
Intra-thyroidal localization				
Superior	0.39	0.09-1.66	0.204	
Middle	0.81	0.17-3.85	0.790	
Inferior	1.00			
Isthmus/junction	0.63	0.12-3.45	0.598	
Multilober	1.17	0.20-6.74	0.861	
Tumor subtype				
Classic	1.00			
Follicular variant	0.17	0.05-0.57	0.004	
Others	0.58	0.06-5.33	0.634	
Lymphovascular invasion				
No	1.00	65.55-1087.18	 < 0.001	
Yes	266.96	
Extracapsular invasion				
No	1.00	1.51-737.15	0.026	
Yes	33.37	
OR, odds ratio; CI, confidence interval

‘In univariate analysis, the risk of CLNM was shown to be higher in those under 45 years of age than those aged 45 years and above [odds ratio (OR) = 0.52, 95% CI 0.30−0.89, P = 0.016]. Additionally, male gender was associated an elevated risk of CLNM (OR = 1.97, 95% CI 1.07−3.60, P = 0.027). Other risk factors for CLNM were lymphovascular invasion (OR = 138.19, 95% CI 52.20−365.83, P < 0.001) and extracapsular invasion (OR = 9.72, 95% CI 1.24−76.47, P = 0.020). The relationship between histopathological subtypes of the tumor and CLNM was examined, and it was found that the follicular variant subtype had a lower probability of metastasis than the other subtypes (95% CI 0.25−0.92, P = 0.010). When the localization of the tumor in the thyroid lobe was evaluated, it was shown that tumors situated in the superior lobe had a lower probability of CLNM than tumors located in the other lobes (95% CI 0.06−0.28, P < 0.001) (Table 2). There was no relationship between CLNM and whether the tumor was unifocal or multifocal (OR = 1.67, 95% CI 0.99−2.80, P = 0.054). Multivariable analysis revealed that age at diagnosis (OR = 0.27, 95% CI 0.09−0.81, P = 0.020), gender (OR = 4.26, 95% CI 1.16−15.63, P = 0.029), tumor subtype for follicular variant (OR = 0.17, 95% CI 0.05−0.57, P = 0.004), lymphovascular invasion (OR = 266.96, 95% CI 65.55−1087.18, P < 0.001) and extracapsular invasion (OR = 33.37, 95% CI 1.51–737.15, P = 0.026) were statistically significant independent predictive factors. However, intra-thyroidal localization of the tumor was not significant for CLNM (Table 3).’

In conclusion, we believe that the valuable critiques and suggestions provided have enhanced the statistical transparency and accuracy of our study. We recognize the significance of reader engagement in research publications and how it contributes to the advancement of published studies.

Competing Interests

The authors have no conflict of interest to declare.

Ethical Approval

Not applicable.
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References

1 Altiner S Kozan R Emral AC Taneri F Karamercan A Effects of patient and tumor characteristics on central lymph node metastasis in papillary thyroid cancer: a guide for selective node dissection Arch Iran Med 2022 25 11 730 6 10.34172/aim.2022.115 37543897
2 Shahraki HR Comments on “Effects of patient and tumor characteristics on central lymph node metastasis in papillary thyroid cancer: a guide for selective node dissection” Arch Iran Med 2024 27 8 59 10.34172/aim.27317
