scholarly journals Cytological Sub-Classification of Atypia of Undetermined Significance May Predict Malignancy Risk in Thyroid Nodules

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-8
Author(s):  
Abdulghani Elomami ◽  
Shahad Abobakr Elhag ◽  
Eiman Alseddeeqi
Keyword(s):  
Thyroid Nodules ◽  
Clinical Decision ◽  
Abu Dhabi ◽  
Diagnostic Utility ◽  
Clinical Parameters ◽  
Malignancy Rate ◽  
Malignancy Risk ◽  
Undetermined Significance

<b><i>Background:</i></b> Atypia/follicular lesion of undetermined significance (AUS/FLUS) carries a malignancy risk reaching up to 50%. Based on the reported malignancy rate in a given population, the clinical practice towards such a category varies. We hereby identify clinical parameters for risk stratification to aid in decision-making for either surgical referral or a clinical follow-up. Our aim is to identify clinical parameters that guided both clinicians and patients at our institutions to reach a clinical decision including atypia types. <b><i>Methods:</i></b> A retrospective review of patients with Bethesda III category thyroid nodules from tertiary centres in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi during January 2011 through December 2015 was carried out. Malignancy risk in Bethesda category III nodules and repeat FNA utility were calculated. Parameters that guided both clinicians and patients for appropriate referral to surgery were studied. <b><i>Results:</i></b> Two hundred and two cases were included in the study. Of these, 101 cases underwent surgery initially following the first FNA and 10 cases following FNA repeat. Histology confirmed malignancy in (41%) of cases that went initially to surgery and in (40%) of cases that underwent a repeat FNA. Repeat FNA resulted in 17 (44.74%) cases being re-classified into benign category, 10 (26.3%) being AUS/FLUS category, 6 (15.7%) being both suspicious and malignant, and 5 (13.16%) being unsatisfactory. Repeating FNA resulted in a definitive diagnostic utility in 50% of the cases. Eighty percent of malignant cases demonstrated nuclear atypia. <b><i>Conclusion:</i></b> The relatively high malignancy rate in our institutions, the suspicious radiographic features, the atypia groups, and the repeat FNA predictive value stratified Bethesda III category nodules for proper malignancy prediction and appropriate management.

scholarly journals Malignancy Rate of Bethesda Class III Thyroid Nodules Based on the Presence of Chronic Lymphocytic Thyroiditis in Surgical Patients

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yoon Young Cho ◽  
Yun Jae Chung ◽  
Hee Sung Kim
Keyword(s):  
Thyroid Nodules ◽  
Chronic Lymphocytic Thyroiditis ◽  
Class Iii ◽  
Lymphocytic Thyroiditis ◽  
Malignancy Rate ◽  
Malignancy Risk ◽  
Follicular Lesions ◽  
Premalignant Condition ◽  
Thyroid Malignancies ◽  
Undetermined Significance

BackgroundHashimoto’s thyroiditis (HT), also known as chronic lymphocytic thyroiditis (CLT), may interfere with the accurate cytological diagnosis of thyroid nodules. Recently, HT has been considered a premalignant condition for thyroid cancer development. The diagnosis of atypia of undetermined significance/follicular lesions of undetermined significance (AUS/FLUS) thyroid nodules is challenging and evidence for the malignancy risk of AUS/FLUS thyroid nodules coexisting with CLT is scarce. Therefore, we assessed the malignancy risk of AUS/FLUS thyroid nodules according to the presence of background CLT.MethodsThis study included 357 surgically resected thyroid nodules with AUS/FLUS cytology. Cases with concomitant malignant nodules were excluded. CLT was defined based on the pathologic report after thyroid surgery.ResultsAmong 357 tumors, 130 tumors (36%) were confirmed to have coexisting CLT, and 170 tumors (48%) were determined to be malignant after thyroidectomy. Malignancy rates were similar in both groups (48% in each) regardless of background CLT (62/130 with CLT vs. 108/227 without CLT). In the group with CLT, thyroiditis was more frequent in the final pathology (12% with CLT vs. 1% without CLT, P = 0.003). In multivariate analysis, positive BRAFV600E mutation, highly suspicious sonographic features (K-TIRADS 5), and smaller thyroid nodules were significant factors for thyroid malignancies.ConclusionThe malignancy rate of thyroid nodules with AUS/FLUS cytology was comparable irrespective of the presence of underlying CLT.

Risk Stratification of Thyroid Nodules With Atypia of Undetermined Significance/Follicular Lesion of Undetermined Significance (AUS/FLUS) Cytology Using Ultrasonography Patterns Defined by the 2015 ATA Guidelines

2017 ◽  
Vol 126 (9) ◽  
pp. 625-633 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ji Hye Lee ◽  
Kyunghwa Han ◽  
Eun-Kyung Kim ◽  
Hee Jung Moon ◽  
Jung Hyun Yoon ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Risk Stratification ◽  
Fine Needle Aspiration ◽  
Clinical Characteristics ◽  
Thyroid Nodules ◽  
Needle Aspiration ◽  
American Thyroid Association ◽  
Fine Needle ◽  
Malignancy Rate ◽  
Undetermined Significance

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the predictive value of ultrasonography (US) patterns based on the 2015 American Thyroid Association (ATA) guidelines for malignancy in atypia of undetermined significance or follicular lesion of undetermined significance (AUS/FLUS) nodules. Methods: From January 2014 to August 2015, 133 thyroid nodules that were initially diagnosed as AUS/FLUS on fine needle aspiration (FNA) were included in this study. Each nodule was assigned a category with US patterns defined by the ATA guidelines. Clinical characteristics and US patterns were compared between the benign and malignant nodules, and malignancy rates were calculated according to the ATA guidelines. Results: The malignancy rate in the very low suspicion group was 0.0% in AUS/FLUS nodules. When applying the ATA guidelines, significant differences existed for US patterns between the benign and malignant nodules in the AUS group ( P = .032) but not the FLUS group ( P = .168). Conclusions: Ultrasonography patterns by the 2015 ATA guidelines can provide risk stratification for nodules with AUS cytology but not for ones with FLUS cytology. For nodules with AUS/FLUS cytology with the very low suspicion pattern of the ATA guidelines, follow-up US might be recommended instead of repeat FNA.

scholarly journals Rate of malignancy for thyroid nodules with AUS/FLUS cytopathology in a tertiary care center – a retrospective cohort study

2021 ◽  
Vol 50 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kalpesh Hathi ◽  
Tarek Rahmeh ◽  
Vicki Munro ◽  
Victoria Northrup ◽  
Ali Sherazi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Thyroid Nodules ◽  
Care Center ◽  
Tertiary Care ◽  
Treatment Pathway ◽  
Malignancy Rate ◽  
Risk Of Malignancy ◽  
Bethesda System ◽  
Thyroid Cytopathology ◽  
The Bethesda System ◽  
Undetermined Significance

Abstract Background Thyroid nodules are stratified through fine-needle aspiration (FNA) and are often categorized using The Bethesda System for Reporting Thyroid Cytopathology, which estimates the risk of malignancy for six cytopathological categories. The atypia of undetermined significance (AUS) and follicular lesion of undetermined significance (FLUS) categories have varying malignancy rates reported in the literature which can range from 6 to 72.9%. Due to this heterogeneity, we assessed the malignancy rate and effectiveness of repeat FNA (rFNA) for AUS/FLUS thyroid cytopathology at our institution. Methods Electronic health records of patients with AUS/FLUS thyroid cytopathology on FNA at our center since the implementation of the Bethesda System on May 1, 2014–December 31, 2019 were retrospectively reviewed. Patient demographics, treatment pathway, and pathology results were collected. The treatment pathway of the nodules, the rFNA results, and the malignant histopathology results were reported. Malignancy rates were calculated as an upper and lower limit estimate. Results This study described 182 AUS/FLUS thyroid nodules from 177 patients. In total, 24 thyroid nodules were deemed malignant upon histopathology, yielding a final malignancy rate of 13.2–25.3%. All of the malignancies were variants of papillary thyroid carcinoma. The malignancy rate of the nodules which underwent resection without rFNA (21.5%) was lower than the malignancy rate of the nodules which underwent resection after rFNA (43.8%). 45.5% of the rFNA results were re-classified into more definitive categories. Conclusion The malignancy rate of AUS/FLUS thyroid cytopathology at our center is in line with the risk of malignancy stated by the 2017 Bethesda System. However, our malignancy rate is lower than some other Canadian centers and approximately half of our rFNAs were re-classified, highlighting the importance of establishing center-specific malignancy and rFNA re-classification rates to guide treatment decisions.

scholarly journals Imaging-Cytology Correlation of Thyroid Nodules with Initially Benign Cytology

2014 ◽  
Vol 2014 ◽  
pp. 1-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shin Hye Hwang ◽  
Ji Min Sung ◽  
Eun-Kyung Kim ◽  
Hee Jung Moon ◽  
Jin Young Kwak
Keyword(s):  
Thyroid Nodules ◽  
False Negative ◽  
Needle Aspiration ◽  
Malignancy Rate ◽  
Negative Results ◽  
False Negative Results ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Risk Of Malignancy ◽  
Us Findings

Objective. To determine the role of imaging-cytology correlation in reducing false negative results of fine-needle aspiration (FNA) at thyroid nodules.Methods. This retrospective study included 667 nodules 1 cm or larger in 649 patients diagnosed as benign at initial cytologic evaluation and that underwent follow-up ultrasound (US) or FNA following a radiologist’s opinion on concordance between imaging and cytologic results. We compared the risk of malignancy of nodules classified into subgroups according to the initial US features and imaging-cytology correlation.Results. Among included nodules, 11 nodules were proven to be malignant (1.6%) in follow-up FNA or surgery. The malignancy rate was higher in nodules with suspicious US features (11.4%) than in nodules without suspicious US features (0.5%,P<0.001). When a thyroid nodule had discordant US findings on image review after having benign FNA results, malignancy rate increased to 23.3%, significantly higher than that of nodules with suspicious US features (P<0.001). However, no significant difference was found in the risk of malignancy between the nodules without suspicious US features (0.5%) and imaging-cytology concordant nodules (0.6%,P=0.438).Conclusions. Repeat FNA can be effectively limited to patients with cytologically benign thyroid nodules showing discordance in imaging-cytology correlation after initial biopsy, which reduces unnecessary repeat aspirations.

scholarly journals Benign Aspirates on Follow-Up FNA May Be Enough in Patients with Initial Atypia of Undetermined Significance/Follicular Lesion of Undetermined Significance

2014 ◽  
Vol 2014 ◽  
pp. 1-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ga Ram Kim ◽  
Jung Hyun Yoon ◽  
Eun-Kyung Kim ◽  
Hee Jung Moon ◽  
Jin Young Kwak
Keyword(s):  
Thyroid Nodules ◽  
Surgical Excision ◽  
Needle Aspiration ◽  
Risk Of Malignancy ◽  
Benign Nodules ◽  
Benign Thyroid Nodules ◽  
Benign Thyroid ◽  
Undetermined Significance

Background.Management of thyroid nodules with benign aspirates following atypia of undetermined significance/follicular lesion of undetermined significance (AUS/FLUS) is not well established. We reviewed the risk of malignancy and the role of ultrasound (US) features among thyroid nodules with benign results following initial AUS/FLUS diagnoses.Methods.From December 2009 to February 2011, a total of 114 nodules in 114 patients diagnosed as benign on follow-up fine-needle aspiration (FNA) after AUS/FLUS results were included in our study. Eight among 114 nodules were confirmed pathologically and 106 were clinically observed by a follow-up FNA or US. Suspicious US features were defined as markedly hypoechogenicity, irregular or microlobulated margin, presence of microcalcifications, and taller than wide shape.Results.There were 110 (96.5%) benign nodules and 4 (3.5%) malignant nodules. Two (4.8%) among 42 nodules without suspicious US features and 2 (2.8%) out of 72 nodules with suspicious US features were confirmed as malignancy, but there were no significant associations between the malignancy rate and US features (P=0.625).Conclusion.Clinical follow-up instead of surgical excision or continuous repeat FNA may be enough for benign thyroid nodules after AUS/FLUS. The role of US features might be insignificant in the management of these nodules.

Clinical Utility of Sonographic Features in Indeterminate Pediatric Thyroid Nodules

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Danielle M. Richman ◽  
Christine E. Cherella ◽  
Jessica R. Smith ◽  
Biren P. Modi ◽  
Benjamin Zendejas ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Thyroid Nodules ◽  
Needle Aspiration ◽  
Risk Level ◽  
Aspiration Cytology ◽  
Malignancy Rate ◽  
Risk Levels ◽  
Malignancy Risk ◽  
Indeterminate Nodules ◽  
Needle Aspiration Cytology ◽  
Indeterminate Cytology

Objective. Surgical resection is recommended for cytologically indeterminate pediatric thyroid nodules due to their intermediate malignancy risk. We evaluated the utility of ultrasound characteristics for refining malignancy risk to inform the management of these nodules. Design. Retrospective cohort study (2004-2019) Methods. We analyzed consecutive thyroid nodules with indeterminate fine-needle aspiration cytology (Bethesda category III, IV, or V) in pediatric patients (<19 years). We assessed the association of demographic and sonographic characteristics with malignancy risk among all indeterminate nodules and within each Bethesda category. Results. Eighty-seven cytologically indeterminate nodules were identified in 78 patients. Bethesda category was III in 56 nodules (64%), IV in 12 (14%), and V in 19 (22%). The malignancy rate was 46/87 (53%) overall, and 23/56 (41%), 8/12 (75%), and 15/19 (79%) in Bethesda III, IV, and V nodules, respectively. Malignancy rate was higher in solitary nodules (67% vs. 37%, p=0.004) and nodules with irregular margins (100% vs. 44%, p<0.001) or calcifications (82% vs. 43%, p=0.002). American College of Radiology Thyroid Imaging, Reporting and Data System (ACR TI-RADS) risk level TR5 was associated with a higher rate of malignancy than lower TI-RADS risk levels (80% vs. 42%, p=0.002). Within individual Bethesda categories, TI-RADS risk level was not associated with malignancy. No sonographic feature had a negative predictive value for malignancy greater than 80%. Conclusions. In pediatric thyroid nodules with indeterminate cytology, some sonographic features—including higher ACR TI-RADS risk level—are associated with malignancy, but these associations are unlikely to alter clinical management in most cases.

DRIVERS OF THE DECISION TO BIOPSY AND FOLLOW-UP OF SMALL SUSPICIOUS THYROID NODULES

2020 ◽  
Vol 26 (8) ◽  
pp. 857-868 ◽  
Author(s):  
Natalia Genere ◽  
Maria Daniela Hurtado ◽  
Tiffany Cortes ◽  
Shobana Athimulam ◽  
Ruaa Al Ward ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Odds Ratio ◽  
Thyroid Nodules ◽  
Clinical Decision Making ◽  
Care Center ◽  
Tertiary Care ◽  
Clinical Decision ◽  
American Thyroid Association ◽  
Nodule Volume ◽  
Ultrasound Features

Objective: In 2015, the updated American Thyroid Association (ATA) guidelines recommended observation for suspicious subcentimeter thyroid nodules, based on their indolent course. We aimed to evaluate the frequency of biopsy in suspicious thyroid nodules since the introduction of these guidelines, including factors contributing to clinical decision-making in a tertiary care center. Methods: We conducted a retrospective study of patients in the Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, with new, subcentimeter suspicious thyroid nodules (by report or by sonographic features) between March, 2015, and November, 2017, not previously biopsied. Results: We identified 141 nodules in 129 patients: mean age 58.1 ± 14.1 years, 74% female, 87% Caucasian. The frequency of biopsy in suspicious thyroid nodules was 39%. Ultrasound features that were the strongest predictors for biopsy on multivariate analysis included: nodule volume (odds ratio [OR] 37.3 [7.5–188.7]), radiology recommendation for biopsy (OR 2.6 [1.8–3.9]) and radiology report of the nodule as “suspicious” (OR 2.1 [1.4–3.2]). Patient’s age and degree of comorbidities did not change the likelihood for biopsy, nor did it vary by clinician type or how the nodule was initially found (incidentally or not incidentally). Among 86 nodules that were not biopsied, 41% had no specific follow-up recommendations. Conclusion: One third of suspicious thyroid nodules underwent biopsy since the release of updated ATA guidelines. Factors driving thyroid biopsy seem to be associated with nodule characteristics but not with patient factors including age and comorbidities. Further studies and development of decision aides may be helpful in providing individualized approaches for suspicious thyroid nodules. Abbreviations: ATA = American Thyroid Association; OR = odds ratio

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