OR21-02 Impact of Nodule Size on the Probability of Hurthle Cell Carcinoma and Other Cancers in Thyroid Nodules with Multiple Chromosomal Copy Number Alterations

Abstract

Fine-needle aspiration (FNA) of thyroid nodules yields indeterminate cytological diagnosis in ~20% of cases, confounding patient management. This includes Hurthle cell nodules, which typically yield Bethesda IV and III cytology. Chromosomal copy number alterations (CNA) are known to occur in thyroid tumors, particularly in Hurthle cell carcinomas (HCC) as well as in other typically follicular-patterned tumors including papillary thyroid carcinomas (PTC) and poorly differentiated thyroid carcinomas (PDTC). The aim of this study was to evaluate thyroid nodules tested positive for CNA but negative for all other genomic alterations using ThyroSeq v3 NGS assay in order to establish the probability of cancer in these nodules and find whether it is influenced by the pattern of CNA and nodule size. We evaluated 111 nodules with multiple CNA detected by ThyroSeq in FNA samples and available surgical pathology outcome. Of those, 69 (62%) nodules showed CNA changes consistent with genome near-haploidization (GNH) whereas 42 (38%) nodules had multiple chromosomal losses and gains (CLG). Nodule size ranged from 0.5-10.2 cm; cytology was Bethesda III in 54%, Bethesda IV in 43%, and Bethesda V-VI in 3% of cases, with Hurthle cells mentioned in the cytology report in 64% of cases. On surgical pathology, 38 (34%) of these nodules were malignant (including 24 HCC, 8 PTC, and 5 oncocytic PDTC) and 73 (66%) were benign (including 43 Hurthle cell and 18 follicular adenomas). No significant difference was observed in probability of malignancy between the two patterns of CNA (p=0.41). However, a significant correlation between the nodule size and probability of cancer was found (p=0.006). In specific CNA groups, correlation between cancer and nodule size remained significant for nodules with GNH pattern (P=0.0002), but not with CLG pattern (p=0.449). Specifically, cancer probability in nodules with GNH pattern and <2 cm in size was 14% (all cancers minimally-invasive), 2.0-2.9 cm was 33%, 3.0-3.9 cm was 50%, 4-4.9 cm was 67%, and ≥5 cm was 80%. Among high-risk cancers (widely-invasive or angioinvasive HCC, PDTC), all 10 tumors had the GNH pattern (p=0.01) and average nodule size of 4.9 cm (range, 2.1-8.5 cm). These findings suggest that CNA of both types are frequently found in Hurthle cell tumors, and probability of cancer in nodules with CNA and no other mutations increases with larger nodule size. This may help to refine the pre-operative assessment of cancer probability and risk of more aggressive disease and offer more tailored management to these patients.