Introduction and objective:

The number of patients with micropapillary thyroid carcinoma (mPTC) is increasing. Clinical practice guidelines have endorsed both active surveillance and surgery as treatment options for mPTC. In this review we aim to describe the current options for the management of mPTC.

Synthesis:

The evidence accumulated in various studies has allowed us to know the natural history and biological behavior of these tumors. Through extensive experience, it has been shown that the vast majority of these tumors often does not present a significant variation in size, or have very slow growth rates, and even some have decreased in size. Most mPTC are low-risk tumors that will not generate morbidity or mortality despite being untreated. In recent years, clinical practice has evolved towards a less aggressive treatment of these mCPT to avoid morbidity derived from active treatment by surgery and/or radioiodine and/or hormonal suppression. Patients with high-risk tumors should be managed following papillary carcinoma protocols. However, active surveillance (AV) of patients with low-risk tumors has shown excellent oncologic outcomes without increasing morbidity and mortality. When surgical treatment is indicated, lobectomy is a valid option for unifocal mPTC Initial selection criteria for the suitability of being managed by VA should take into account many aspects, including tumor and patient characteristics. If there is a high risk of progression, they should undergo immediate surgery instead of VA.

Conclusions:

VA has emerged as a new therapeutic alternative for these low-risk tumors, with excellent oncological results and lower complication rates. However, despite the encouraging results of the VA, its implementation in practice depends on many aspects among which are the characteristics of the tumor, the clinical characteristics of the patient and psychosocial factors.

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