Less neck surgery may be just as safe for some thyroid cancers
NCT ID NCT06554652
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026
Summary
This study tests whether a smaller, more targeted neck surgery (selective neck dissection) works as well as the standard larger surgery (modified neck dissection) for people with papillary thyroid cancer that has spread to only 1 or 2 small lymph nodes in the side of the neck. About 250 participants will be randomly assigned to one of the two surgeries. The main goal is to see if the smaller surgery can keep cancer from coming back while also improving quality of life.
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Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Phase 3
Large-scale testing in a bigger group. Usually the last step before a treatment can be approved.
- Participants
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About 250 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Nov 2024
- Expected to finish
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Jun 2029
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
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Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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14 to 80 years
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: * Pathologically confirmed PTC; * Age range: 14-80 years old; * Preoperative fine needle aspiration confirms lymph node metastasis in the lateral neck * Ultrasound and CT suggest that metastatic/suspected metastatic lymph nodes are limited to compartment IV, with 1-2 lymph node metastases and \<1cm in short diameter. The lymph nodes have no central necrosis, liquefaction, peripheral enhancement, or disappearance of adjacent fat spaces (predicting unobstructed lymphatic vessels); * Thyroid tumors without extra thyroidal extension; * Enough thyroid volume to inject tracer. Exclusion Criteria: * Previous neck surgery; * Bilateral neck lymph node dissection; * Distant metastases; * High risk pathological subtypes or the presence of other high-risk factors for recurrence; * Previous treatment for thyroid cancer other than endocrine therapy; * The patient is unable to cooperate with follow-up.
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
How to take part
Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.
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The places running it
1 site. The list below names each one and where it is.
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The official record
ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.
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A doctor treating you
A doctor who knows your case can contact a study site on your behalf, and can tell you whether this study is worth pursuing at all.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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Fudan Univeristy Shanghai Cancer Center
RECRUITINGShanghai, China
More trials for these conditions
Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.
- Light-Based probe aims to spot thyroid cancer faster
- Mapping how thyroid tumors spread and what surgery leaves behind
- Can a video keep thyroid cancer patients on track after surgery?
- Can doctors safely watch small thyroid cancers instead of removing them?
- Can heat replace the scalpel for small thyroid tumors?
- Thyroid surgery under the microscope: what 3,000 real operations reveal