Surgery

The course of papillary carcinoma of the thyroid is best described by which of the following statements?

Metastases are rare; local growth is rapid; erosion into the trachea and large blood vessels is frequent

Local invasion and metastases almost never occur, which makes the term carcinoma misleading

Bony metastases are frequent and produce an osteolytic pattern particularly in vertebrae

Metastases frequently occur to cervical lymph nodes; distant metastases and local invasion are rare