Abstract
Background: We aimed to describe changes in serum thyroglobulin (Tg) and anti-Tg autoantibody shortly following high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) ablation in patients with positive anti-Tg status by comparing them with patients with negative anti-Tg and to correlate them with 6-month nodule shrinkage and treatment success.Methods: From 2015 to 2017, patients who underwent HIFU ablation of a benign thyroid nodule were analysed. Serum Tg and anti-Tg were checked on treatment day (baseline) and 4 days after treatment. Anti-Tg >99 IU/ml were considered positivity. Percentage Tg or anti-Tg change = [Level on Day-4 – baseline level]/[Baseline level] × 100 while nodule shrinkage was measured by volume reduction ratio (VRR) = [Baseline volume – volume at 6 month]/[Baseline volume] × 100. Treatment success was defined as VRR >50%.Results: Among the 276 eligible patients, 85 (30.8%) patients were positive for anti-Tg (Group I) while the others (n = 191, 69.2%) were negative (Group II). Relative to group II, Group I had a less significant Tg rise on Day 4 (4121.78 ± 9321.90% vs. 5711.53 ± 23487.20%, p = .013). There was a fall in anti-Tg on day 4 for group I (−11.56 ± 139.69%). This percentage anti-Tg drop significantly correlated with the 6-month VRR (ρ = −0.602, p = .030) but was not a significant factor of treatment success.Conclusions: Given the fact that the percentage anti-Tg drop correlated significantly with 6-month nodule shrinkage in group I, monitoring early anti-Tg change may help to predict the 6-month nodule shrinkage in patients with positive anti-Tg.
Highlights
Thyroid nodules are common and most are benign and will remain relatively static over time, some can become large and cause symptoms [1,2,3]
We aimed to describe these changes following single ablation in patients with positive anti-Tg by comparing them with those with negative anti-Tg status and to correlate these changes with subsequent nodule shrinkage and treatment success
high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) ablation was only indicated for patients who did not wish to undergo surgery
Summary
Thyroid nodules are common and most are benign and will remain relatively static over time, some can become large and cause symptoms [1,2,3]. Radiofrequency ablation and laser ablation have been the most widely applied techniques in the ablation benign thyroid nodules [6,7,8] They have resulted in excellent short and medium-term outcomes [6,7,8,9,10,11,12]. We aimed to describe changes in serum thyroglobulin (Tg) and anti-Tg autoantibody shortly following high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) ablation in patients with positive anti-Tg status by comparing them with patients with negative anti-Tg and to correlate them with 6-month nodule shrinkage and treatment success. There was a fall in anti-Tg on day 4 for group I (À11.56 ± 139.69%) This percentage anti-Tg drop significantly correlated with the 6month VRR (q 1⁄4 À0.602, p 1⁄4 .030) but was not a significant factor of treatment success. Conclusions: Given the fact that the percentage anti-Tg drop correlated significantly with 6-month nodule shrinkage in group I, monitoring early anti-Tg change may help to predict the 6-month nodule shrinkage in patients with positive anti-Tg
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
