Ultrasound is superior to palpation for thyroid cancer detection in high-risk childhood cancer and BMT survivors

2020 ◽  
Vol 28 (11) ◽  
pp. 5117-5124
Author(s):  
Jennifer Hess ◽  
Kristian Schafernak ◽  
Dorothee Newbern ◽  
Tamara Vern-Gross ◽  
Janet Foote ◽  
...  
2019 ◽  
Vol 37 (15_suppl) ◽  
pp. e21528-e21528
Author(s):  
Jennifer Hess ◽  
Alexandra Maria Walsh ◽  
Dorothee Newbern ◽  
Kristian Schafernak ◽  
Tamara Vern-Gross ◽  
...  

e21528 Background: Thyroid cancer is a common secondary malignancy among childhood cancer survivors who have received radiation to the head, neck and/or upper thorax. The optimal strategy for surveillance for thyroid carcinoma in childhood cancer survivors remains controversial. Current Children’s Oncology Group recommendations are limited to physical exam. The objective of this study was to determine the sensitivity and specificity of thyroid ultrasound versus neck exam by a pediatric endocrinologist in the diagnoses of thyroid cancer in a cohort of high-risk childhood cancer survivors. Methods: Medical records of childhood cancer survivors who received radiotherapy to the head, neck and/or upper thorax were reviewed. These patients were seen in a comprehensive childhood cancer survivorship clinic from 01/01/2010 to 12/31/2017. Patient populations included oncology, bone marrow transplant and brain tumor patients. Results: 226 patients received radiation to the head, neck and/or upper thorax. Of those, 129 patients were male (57%). Sixteen (7.1%) of patients developed a secondary thyroid malignancy including 4 patients previously treated for an oncological malignancy, 9 patients treated with bone marrow transplantation, and 3 patients with a CNS malignancy. Median radiation dose was 1800 cGy (range 400-5940 cGy). Time to thyroid carcinoma diagnosis occurred at a median of 12 years (range 4-19 years) from treatment with radiation. Screening ultrasounds were obtained in 146 (65%) patients while 226 (100%) had a physical exam. Two cases were identified by abnormalities on physical exam. The sensitivity of US was 100% (CI 80.6-100) compared to a sensitivity of 12.5% (CI 3.5-36) using physical exam (P < 0.0001). Screening ultrasound had a specificity of 73% (CI 65.1-80.1) while physical exam yielded a specificity of 100% (CI 98.2-100). Conclusions: Regular screening with ultrasounds provide the greatest sensitivity for detection of secondary thyroid carcinomas after head, neck and upper thorax radiation in childhood cancer survivors. If screening ultrasounds were not routinely utilized in our clinic, 14 of the 16 patients (87.5%) would have had a delay in their diagnosis of a secondary thyroid malignancy. Screening ultrasounds may lead to earlier detection of thyroid carcinomas, with the potential to decrease the need for aggressive surgery, radioiodine therapy and, ultimately, to decrease recurrence risk.


2021 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Neda Gholizadeh ◽  
Peter B. Greer ◽  
John Simpson ◽  
Jonathan Goodwin ◽  
Caixia Fu ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Current multiparametric MRI (mp-MRI) in routine clinical practice has poor-to-moderate diagnostic performance for transition zone prostate cancer. The aim of this study was to evaluate the potential diagnostic performance of novel 1H magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging (MRSI) using a semi-localized adiabatic selective refocusing (sLASER) sequence with gradient offset independent adiabaticity (GOIA) pulses in addition to the routine mp-MRI, including T2-weighted imaging (T2WI), diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) and quantitative dynamic contrast enhancement (DCE) for transition zone prostate cancer detection, localization and grading. Methods Forty-one transition zone prostate cancer patients underwent mp-MRI with an external phased-array coil. Normal and cancer regions were delineated by two radiologists and divided into low-risk, intermediate-risk, and high-risk categories based on TRUS guided biopsy results. Support vector machine models were built using different clinically applicable combinations of T2WI, DWI, DCE, and MRSI. The diagnostic performance of each model in cancer detection was evaluated using the area under curve (AUC) of the receiver operating characteristic diagram. Then accuracy, sensitivity and specificity of each model were calculated. Furthermore, the correlation of mp-MRI parameters with low-risk, intermediate-risk and high-risk cancers were calculated using the Spearman correlation coefficient. Results The addition of MRSI to T2WI + DWI and T2WI + DWI + DCE improved the accuracy, sensitivity and specificity for cancer detection. The best performance was achieved with T2WI + DWI + MRSI where the addition of MRSI improved the AUC, accuracy, sensitivity and specificity from 0.86 to 0.99, 0.83 to 0.96, 0.80 to 0.95, and 0.85 to 0.97 respectively. The (choline + spermine + creatine)/citrate ratio of MRSI showed the highest correlation with cancer risk groups (r = 0.64, p < 0.01). Conclusion The inclusion of GOIA-sLASER MRSI into conventional mp-MRI significantly improves the diagnostic accuracy of the detection and aggressiveness assessment of transition zone prostate cancer.


Author(s):  
Kendrah V Osei ◽  
Anita K Mehta ◽  
Denise M Thigpen ◽  
Jocelyn Rapelyea ◽  
Steven Friedman ◽  
...  

Abstract Objective To compare cancer detection rate (CDR), patient recall, and interpretation time of a full protocol MRI (fpMRI) to an abbreviated MRI protocol (abMRI) in high-risk women. Methods This retrospective study was approved by the IRB. All sequential high-risk screening MRI examinations performed between January 1, 2013, and December 31, 2016, were included. Breast radiologists reviewed patient history, prior images, and abMRI images and recorded their interpretation. Time for interpretation reflected review of the MRI study but not dictation or report generation. Following a minimum 30-day washout period, radiologists interpreted the fpMRI, with interpretation and timing recorded. Data collected included CDR, interpretation time, and patient recall rate. Statistical analyses utilized were Cohen’s kappa coefficient, Student’s t-test, and McNemar’s test. Results Included were 334 MRI examinations of 286 women. Interpretation time was 60.7 seconds for the abMRI compared to 99.4 seconds for the fpMRI, with an average difference of 38.7 ± 5.4 seconds per patient (P &lt; 0.0001). Recall rates were comparable: the abMRI recall rate was 82/334 (24.6%) and the fpMRI 81/334 (24.3%). All five cancers included were detected by both protocols with equal recall rate. However, there were more recommendations for biopsy with the fpMRI, although this difference was not statistically significant. Conclusion The abMRI demonstrated comparable CDR to fpMRI, with shortened interpretation time and similar recall rates. Implementing an abMRI to screen high-risk women reduces imaging and interpretation time, thereby improving cost-effectiveness and the patient experience without reduction in cancer detection.


Author(s):  
Michele Klain ◽  
Carmela Nappi ◽  
Emilia Zampella ◽  
Valeria Cantoni ◽  
Roberta Green ◽  
...  

Abstract Purpose We performed a systematic review and a meta-analysis to investigate the successful ablation rate after radioiodine (RAI) administration in patients with differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC) at intermediate-high risk of recurrence. Methods A comprehensive literature search of the PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science databases was conducted according to the PRISMA statement. Results The final analysis included 9 studies accounting for 3103 patients at intermediate-high risk of recurrence. In these patients, the successful ablation rates ranged from 51 to 94% with a 71% pooled successful ablation and were higher in intermediate (72%) than in high (52%)-risk patients. Despite the rigorous inclusion standards, a significant heterogeneity among the evaluated studies was observed. Higher administered RAI activities are associated with a lower successful ablation rate in the whole population and in the subgroup of high-risk patients. Furthermore, pooled recurrence rate in intermediate-risk patients achieving successful ablation was only 2% during the subsequent 6.4-year follow-up while the pooled recurrence rate was 14% in patients who did not achieve a successful ablation. Conclusion In a large sample of 3103 patients at intermediate-high risk of persistent/recurrent disease, 71% of patients achieved a successful ablation. In these intermediate-risk patients, the probability of subsequent recurrence is low and most recurrence occurred in those with already abnormal findings at the first control.


Author(s):  
Tian Tian ◽  
Yangmengyuan Xu ◽  
Xinyue Zhang ◽  
Bin Liu

Abstract Context The risk of persistent and recurrent disease in patients with differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC) is a continuum that ranges from very low to very high, even within the three primary risk categories. It is important to identify independent clinicopathological parameters to accurately predict clinical outcomes. Objective To examine the association between pre-ablation stimulated thyroglobulin (ps-Tg) and persistent and recurrent disease in DTC patients and investigate whether incorporation of ps-Tg could provide a more individualized estimate of clinical outcomes. Design, Setting, and Participants Medical records of 2524 DTC patients who underwent total thyroidectomy and radioiodine ablation between 2006 and 2018 were retrospectively reviewed. Main Outcome Measure Ps-Tg was measured under thyroid hormone withdrawal before remnant ablation. Association of ps-Tg and clinical outcomes. Results In multivariate analysis, age, ATA risk stratification, M1, ps-Tg and cumulative administered activities were the independent predictive factors for persistent/ recurrent disease. Receiver operating characteristic analysis identified ps-Tg cutoff (≤ 10.1 ng/mL) to predict disease free status with a negative predictive value of 95%, and validated for all ATA categories. Integration of ps-Tg into ATA risk categories indicated that the presence of ps-Tg ≤ 10.1 ng/mL was associated with a significantly decreased chance of having persistent/recurrent disease in intermediate- and high-risk patients (9.9 to 4.1% in intermediate-risk patients, and 33.1 to 8.5% in high-risk patients). Conclusion Ps-Tg (≤ 10.1 ng/mL) was a key predictor of clinical outcomes in DTC patients. Its incorporation as a variable in the ATA risk stratification system could more accurately predict clinical outcomes.


2021 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jochanan Benbassat

Background: The management of patients with dyspepsia is uncertain. Some authors advocate endoscopy for all; others restrict endoscopy only to patients at high risk of gastric cancer, namely to those above an age threshold, or with a family history, dysphagia, loss of weight, anemia, or a childhood in Asian countries. Still others recommend various combinations between test-and-treat for Helicobacter pylori, anti-secretory treatment, and/or endoscopy.Objective: To highlight the uncertainties in the choice between the various strategies and argue that these uncertainties should be shared with the patient.Method: An overview of reported life expectancy, patient satisfaction, gastric cancer detection rates, symptom relief, and cost effectiveness of the management strategies for dyspepsia.Main Findings: There are no randomized controlled trials of the effect of screening by endoscopy on mortality of patients with gastric cancer. Lower grades of evidence suggest that early diagnosis reduces this mortality. Analyses, which assume a survival benefit of early diagnosis, indicate that mass screening in countries of high incidence gastric cancer (&gt; 10 cases per 100,000) and targeted screening of high-risk persons in countries of low-intermediate incidence (&lt;10 cases per 100,000) is cost-effective at a willingness to pay of $20,000–50,000 per QALY. Prompt endoscopy appears to be best for patient satisfaction and gastric cancer detection, and test-and-treat for H pylori—for symptom relief and avoiding endoscopies.Conclusions: The gain in life expectancy is the main source of uncertainty in the choice between management strategies. This choice should be shared with the patients after explaining uncertainties and eliciting their preferences.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document