The report by Kelemen et al reflects an extension of an interesting and potentially valuable surgical concept that has undergone initial evaluation for melanoma and breast cancer and appropriately could be assessed in thyroid cancer. The authors are experts in the technique of sentinel lymph node biopsy.
Patients with differentiated thyroid cancer enjoy excellent survival overall, but there remains significant controversy regarding what prognostic influence lymph node metastases portend and the most effective method of selecting patients for whom lymphadenectomy would be recommended.