Benign Nodules Research Articles

Apo10 and TKTL1 in blood macrophages as potential biomarkers for early diagnosis of operable breast cancer.

Blood macrophage Apo10 and TKTL1 detection is a novel, noninvasive cancer screening approach, but its relevance in breast cancer remains uncertain. We compared the potential diagnostic value of Apo10 and TKTL1 with commonly used tumor markers indifferentiating breast cancer patients. Physical examination and blood sample data from breast cancer patients who did not receive surgery or chemotherapy (retrospective; breast cancer group) and those with benign breast nodules and completely healthy subjects (prospective; control group) were collected from October 2020 to July 2022 at Sun Yat-sen University. Descriptive statistics and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were generated. The area under the ROC curve (AUROC) was calculated to compare the diagnostic efficiency of Apo10 and TKTL1 with conventional biomarkers (carcinoembryonic antigen [CEA], cancer antigens [CA-125, CA-199, CA-153]) in differentiating breast cancer from healthy breasts and benign breast nodules. From October 2020 to July 2022, 153 breast cancer patients (primarily early-stage disease: n = 113 (73.9%) stage I/II)and 153 control participants (benign breast nodules, n = 56; healthy, n = 97) were included in this study. The breast cancer subtypes were mainly invasive ductal carcinoma (92.8%), with a few cases of DCIS (5.9%), infiltrating lobular carcinoma (0.7%), and mucinous carcinoma (0.7%). Notably, Apo10, TKTL1, and Apo10 + TKTL1 (APT) levels were significantly greater in the cancer group than in the control group (P < 0.001), demonstrating high diagnostic value (AUC = 0.901, 0.871, 0.938) that surpassed CA-125, CA-199, CA-153, and CEA. In a subgroup analysis excluding stage III patients, APT-based breast cancer screening was minimally affected, with the AUROC (0.933-0.938) varying by ≤ 1%. Compared with conventional biomarkers, Apo10, TKTL1, andAPT showed superior early-stage breast cancer screening efficacy, potentially emerging as a promising marker for discriminating breast cancer from healthy breasts and nontumoral lesions.

Investigation of artificial intelligence–based clinical decision support system’s performance in reducing the fine needle aspiration rate of thyroid nodules: A pilot study

Introduction: This pilot study aims to evaluate the clinical impact of artificial intelligence–based decision support, Koios Decision Support™, on the diagnostic performance of ultrasound assessment of thyroid nodules, and as a result to avoid fine needle aspiration. Methods: This retrospective pilot study was conducted on ultrasound images of thyroid nodules investigated with fine needle aspiration from January 2022 to December 2022. Orthogonal ultrasound images of thyroid nodules, previously investigated with fine needle aspiration, were compared with the Koios Decision Support™ suggestion to perform fine needle aspiration. Surgical histology was used as ground truth. Results: A total of 29 patients (76% women) with a mean age of 48 ± 16.5 years were evaluated, n = 15 (52%) were histologically proven benign and n = 14 (48%) were malignant. In the benign group, Koios Decision Support™ suggested avoidable fine needle aspiration in n = 8 (53%). In the malignant group, Koios Decision Support™ suggested follow-up or no fine needle aspiration in n = 2 (14%). Sensitivity is 85.7% ( n = 12) ( p = 0.027), whereas specificity is 53.3% ( n = 8) ( p = 0.027). The positive predictive value is 63.2% ( n = 12), negative predictive value is 80% ( n = 8), false-negative value is 20% ( n = 2) and false-positive value is 36.8% ( n = 7). Based on artificial intelligence decision, one cancer would have been missed. Conclusion: Artificial intelligence can improve specificity without significantly compromising sensitivity. There was a suggested reduction in the fine needle aspiration rate, in the histologically proven benign nodules, by 53%. This had no statistical significance, likely due to the small population, however, it is thought to be the largest study to date. Further investigation with wider-ranging studies is suggested.

Evaluation of the clinical efficacy of microwave ablation for benign thyroid nodules based on contrast-enhanced ultrasound.

This study evaluates the clinical efficacy of microwave ablation in patients with benign thyroid nodules based on contrast-enhanced ultrasound. A total of 92 patients with benign thyroid nodules admitted to our hospital from January 2020 to December 2022 were selected as research subjects and divided into control group and observation group according to different treatment methods, with 46 cases in each group. All patients received microwave ablation. Imaging examination and monitoring were performed before and after microwave ablation. The control group underwent routine ultrasound examination, and the observation group underwent contrast-enhanced ultrasound examination. It was determined whether or not to terminate ablation therapy according to the imaging examination results. Results of enhanced MRI were used as the gold standard to evaluate the clinical efficacy, thyroid nodule volume, thyroid nodule volume reduction rate, nodule recurrence, and complication rate of the 2 groups. Using the results of enhanced MRI as the gold standard, the total ablation rate of observation group was 96.55%, which was significantly higher than that of control group 85.96%, and the nodule survival rate of 3.45% was significantly lower than that of control group 14.04% (P < .05). After 1 month, 3 months, 6 months, and 12 months, the thyroid nodule volume of both groups was significantly reduced, and the thyroid nodule volume of observation group was significantly smaller than that of control group (P < .05). After 1 month, 3 months, 6 months, and 12 months, the reduction rate of thyroid nodule volume in 2 groups was significantly increased, and the reduction rate of thyroid nodule volume in observation group was significantly higher than that in control group (P < .05). After treatment, the recurrence rate of nodule in observation group was 4.35%, which was significantly lower than that in control group, 15.22% (P < .05). After treatment, the complication rate of observation group was 8.70%, which was significantly lower than that of control group 26.09% (P < .05). Contrast-enhanced ultrasound can effectively monitor the treatment range of benign thyroid nodules by microwave ablation, improve clinical efficacy, reduce the recurrence rate of nodules, and has high effectiveness and safety.

Ultrasound-based radiomics to predict the volume reduction rate of benign thyroid nodules after microwave ablation.

To evaluate the predictive power of ultrasound-based radiomics models for benign thyroid nodules with a volume reduction rate (VRR) of < or ≥75% at 12 months after microwave ablation. A retrospective study was conducted on 194 individuals with benign thyroid nodules who received ultrasound-guided microwave ablation between November 2019 and June 2023. The clinical and ultrasound features, including age, gender, volume, echogenicity, duration of ablation, and so on were analysed by t-test or chi-square test. Radiomics features were extracted from longitudinal and transverse ultrasound images of the nodules. The features were selected using methods such as least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO). Radiomics models were established using longitudinal, transverse, and longitudinal + transverse ultrasound images to predict the VRR of benign thyroid nodules after ablation. Decision curve analysis (DCA) and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis were used to assess the models' performance. At 12 months following ablation, the VRR of the nodules was 77.8 ± 19.4% (7.4-98.8%). Statistical analysis revealed that the duration of ablation and the proportion of liquid extracted were significantly correlated with the 12-month VRR (P <0.05). In the radiomics models, Logistic Regression (LR) performed the best. In the training cohorts, the area under the curve (AUC) for the longitudinal, transverse, and combined groups were 0.935, 0.800, and 0.937. The AUC values in the test cohort were 0.820, 0.844, and 0.917. The radiomics models established based on pre-ablation ultrasound images showed good predictive efficacy for the VRR of nodules at 12 months following ablation. The predictive efficacy is best in the combined group. With the models, we can preoperatively predict patients' prognoses and thereby determine whether to proceed with ablation therapy.

Fate of nondiagnostic thyroid fine needle aspirations.

Thyroid nodules may be detected during the workup of thyroid hormone abnormalities and as incidental findings during unrelated imaging studies. The diagnosis of a thyroid nodule is mainly established by performing fine needle aspiration (FNA) under ultrasound guidance. Thyroid nodules are classified as nondiagnostic, defined in the Bethesda System for Reporting Thyroid Cytopathology as samples with excess blood, cyst fluid only, and lack of thyroid follicular cells. The current study evaluates a series of nondiagnostic FNAs to assess whether repeat sampling improves yield and what patient management, and outcomes are after a nondiagnostic FNA. Thyroid FNAs from 2016 to 2023 were retrieved from our institution archives. All cases were performed under ultrasound guidance and with rapid on-site evaluation. Cases were assigned the Bethesda System Category. Nondiagnostic FNAs were further reviewed for repeat FNA procedures, potential molecular testing, or diagnostic resections. In total 3104 thyroid FNAs were reviewed, with 153 (4.9%) being nondiagnostic. Of the 154 FNAs, there were 129 patients with an average age of 60 and a male-to-female ratio of 1:3.2. Of the 130 patients, there were 50 patients who underwent 55 repeat FNAs. Thirty-seven (67%) of the repeats were benign, 13 (24%) were nondiagnostic again, and 5 (9%) were atypia of undetermined significance (AUS). Molecular testing was performed on repeat FNAs diagnosed AUS. Four cases showed no mutations and had a high likelihood of being benign. One case did have an NRAS Q61R mutation, and resection revealed a noninvasive follicular thyroid neoplasm with papillary-like nuclear features. Seventeen (13% of all cases) with nondiagnostic FNA were resected. Twelve (71%) thyroidectomies showed benign adenomatous nodules. The remainder showed incidental papillary thyroid microcarcinoma (0.1 cm), an infarcted follicular adenoma, a noninvasive follicular thyroid neoplasm with papillary-like nuclear features, and metastatic renal cell carcinoma (2×). Thyroid nodules with nondiagnostic cytology are reassuring of being highly likely a benign nodule. Only 5 of the 55 (9%) repeat FNAs yielded abnormalities, with only one of those being truly a follicular neoplasm (confirmed by molecular testing and resection). No primary thyroid malignancies have been identified in follow-up (repeat FNA or surgery). Clinical and ultrasound follow-up may be more appropriate management for nondiagnostic thyroid FNAs.

The Influence of Impedance on the Efficacy of Radiofrequency Ablation for Benign Thyroid Nodules.

Radiofrequency ablation (RFA) uses the heat generated by a high-frequency alternating electric current, and according to Ohm's and Joule's law, the delivered current is inversely proportional to the circuit impedance. The primary objective of this study was to investigate whether tissue impedance during radiofrequency ablation (RFA) for benign thyroid nodules is related to the degree of volume reduction. This observational study included consecutive patients treated with RFA for benign thyroid nodules from February 2020 to August 2023. Technical effectiveness was defined as a volume reduction percentage (VRP) >75% at 6 months after the treatment. Multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed to identify the potential role of clinical factors and changes in tissue impedance on technique effectiveness. Totally 72 patients were included with 73 benign thyroid nodules. Maximal impedance peaks reached <18 times, and mean procedural impedance ≤300 Ω were significantly associated with a volume decrease of >75% at bivariate analysis. These cutoff points were exploratory, as no existing literature suggests these variables are related to the degree of volume reduction. After adjusting for age, volume, and composition, significant associations were found for mean electrical impedance in the multivariate analysis (OR = 4.86 [confidence interval [CI] 1.29-18.26], p = 0.019). The energy adjusted by volume (delivered energy) was not associated with a VRP >75% (p = 0.7746). This study suggests that a mean procedural impedance </= 300 Ω is related to the effectiveness of RFA as measured by VRP. Additional prospective and randomized studies are needed to compare electrical parameters with VRP. 3 Laryngoscope, 134:5231-5238, 2024.

Value of circulating tumor cell assisting low-dose computed tomography in screening pulmonary nodules based on existing liquid biopsy techniques: a systematic review with meta-analysis and trial sequential analysis.

This study aims to assess the diagnostic utility of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) in conjunction with low-dose computed tomography (LDCT) for differentiating between benign and malignant pulmonary nodules and to substantiate the foundation for their integration into clinical practice. A systematic literature review was performed independently by two researchers utilizing databases including PubMed, Web of Science, The Cochrane Library, Embase, and Medline, to collate studies up to September 15, 2023, that investigated the application of CTCs in diagnosing pulmonary nodules. A meta-analysis was executed employing Stata 15.0 and Revman 5.4 to calculate the pooled sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative likelihood ratios (PLR and NLR), diagnostic odds ratio (DOR), and the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC). Additionally, trial sequential analysis was conducted using dedicated TSA software. The selection criteria identified 16 studies, encompassing a total of 3409 patients. The meta-analysis revealed that CTCs achieved a pooled sensitivity of 0.84 (95% CI 0.80 to 0.87), specificity of 0.80 (95% CI 0.73 to 0.86), PLR of 4.23 (95% CI 3.12 to 5.72), NLR of 0.20 (95% CI 0.16 to 0.25), DOR of 20.92 (95% CI 13.52 to 32.36), and AUC of 0.89 (95% CI 0.86 to 0.93). Circulating tumor cells demonstrate substantial diagnostic accuracy in distinguishing benign from malignant pulmonary nodules. The incorporation of CTCs into the diagnostic protocol can significantly augment the diagnostic efficacy of LDCT in screening for malignant lung diseases.

A new thyroid imaging reporting and data system for nodules: Based on grayscale and color Doppler ultrasonography

ObjectiveTo construct and validate a new thyroid imaging reporting and data system (TI-RADS) based on radiating blood flow and grayscale US features. Materials and methodsThis study enrolled patients from 4 hospitals from January 2018 to November 2023 retrospectively and prospectively. All US features associated with malignant thyroid nodules were assessed by multivariable logistic regression to construct baseline US TI-RADS (BUS TI-RADS), which was tested with internal validation set, external validation set and prospective validation set. Additionally, its potential of reducing biopsy was assessed. ResultsAmong 2932 patients (2153 female, age: 42.83 ± 11.71; 779 male, age: 42.36 ± 11.78) with 3940 nodules (2831 malignant nodules and 1109 benign nodules). Independent predictive factors included composition, echogenicity, shape, margin, suspicious extrathyroidal extension, punctate echogenic foci, and radiating blood flow. Compared with American Society of Radiology (ACR) TI-RADS and Chinese TI-RADS (C-TIRADS), the BUS TI-RADS had higher AUCs of 0.96 (95 % CI: [0.95, 0.97]; P < 0.001), 0.93 ([0.90, 0.97]; P < 0.001), 0.91 ([0.86, 0.96]; P < 0.003) and 0.95 ([0.93, 0.97]; P < 0.001) for the training set, internal validation set, external validation set and prospective validation set respectively. Decision curve analysis demonstrated higher net benefit for the BUS TI-RADS. And the BUS TI-RADS (4.1 %; 18.1 %) had lower percentage of biopsy and false negative rate compared with the ACR TI-RADS (31.2 %; 20.9 %) and C-TIRADS(33.1 %; 58.5 %). ConclusionBUS TI-RADS was created according to the simplified regression coefficients of radiating blood flow and grayscale ultrasonography features with excellent diagnostic performance and could reduce unnecessary biopsy with lower missed malignancy.

Microwave ablation for benign thyroid nodules with cosmetic problems and related factors for post-ablative complete relief: a two-center retrospective study.

To investigate the efficacy of ultrasound (US)-guided percutaneous MWA for benign thyroid nodules with cosmetic problems and identify related factors contributing to post-ablative complete relief (CR). This retrospective study reviewed the efficacy of MWA in treating thyroid nodules in patients with cosmetic problems who underwent MWA from January 2021 to May 2023. Patients were followed up at 1, 3, and 6 months after MWA. Pre-treatment clinical characteristics, conventional ultrasound (US) and contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) features were analyzed to explore their correlation with cosmetic improvement, defined as a cosmetic score of 1 or 2 at the 6-month follow-up. Univariable and multivariable regression analyses were carried out to identify variables associated with CR, and the related nomogram was established. Calibration curve and decision curve analysis were used to evaluate the nomogram performance. 118 patients with 118 nodules were included in the study. During the 1-, 3- and 6-month follow-up, the mean volume reduction ratios (VRR) were 2%, 36% and 73%, respectively. 22.0% (26/118), 57.6% (68/118), and 89.8% (106/118) patients achieved CR of cosmetic problems at 1, 3, and 6 months after MWA. In multivariable analysis, three variables (i.e., non-hashimoto's thyroiditis [HT] [OR: 90.036, P = 0.001], nodule location not close to danger triangle area [OR: 66.812, P = 0.003], early hyperenhancement on CEUS [OR: 0.035, P = 0.024]) were found to be closely associated with CR of cosmetic problems at 6 months after MWA. A nomogram model was constructed, and its accuracy was well validated (i.e., C-index = 0.914). MWA was effective and safe for treating benign thyroid nodules with cosmetic problems. Non-HT, nodule location not close to danger triangle area, and early hyperenhancement on CEUS were associated with CR of cosmetic problems after MWA.

Volatile organic compounds in exhaled breath, blood, and urine detected in patients with thyroid carcinoma using gas chromatography-ion mobility spectrometry—a pilot study

The differentiation between malignant and benign thyroid nodules represents a significant challenge for clinicians globally. The identification of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) has emerged as a novel approach in the field of cancer diagnosis. This prospective pilot study aims to identify VOCs in exhaled breath, blood, and urine that can differentiate benign from malignant thyroid nodules using gas chromatography-ion mobility spectrometry (GC-IMS). Patients with thyroid nodules scheduled for surgery were enrolled at the Maastricht University Medical Center (MUMC+). Breath samples were analyzed using a BreathSpec GC-IMS machine (G.A.S. Dortmund, Germany), specifically designed for breath analysis. All blood and urine samples were analyzed using a separate GC-IMS device, the FlavourSpec® (G.A.S., Dortmund, Germany). In this proof-of-concept study, 70 consecutive patients undergoing thyroid surgery at MUMC+ were included. Of these patients, 29 were confirmed to have thyroid cancer after surgical resection. The overall analysis did not reveal statistically significant differences in VOCs in breath, urine and blood, between patients with benign and malignant thyroid cancer. This proof-of-concept study demonstrated that GC-IMS could not effectively differentiate between the VOC profiles of malignant and benign thyroid nodules. However, due to the small sample size of this study, larger prospective studies are needed to investigate the potential of using VOCs to distinguish between benign and malignant thyroid nodules. Additionally, future research should focus on identifying potential confounding factors that may influence patient VOC profiles. (NCT04883294).

The diagnostic efficacy of seven autoantibodies in early detection of ground-glass nodular lung adenocarcinoma

BackgroundPersistent ground-glass nodules (GGNs) carry a potential risk of malignancy, however, early diagnosis remained challenging. This study aimed to investigate the cut-off values of seven autoantibodies in patients with ground-glass nodules smaller than 3cm, and to construct machine learning models to assess the diagnostic value of these autoantibodies.MethodsIn this multi-center retrospective study, we collected peripheral blood specimens from a total of 698 patients. A total of 466 patients with ground-glass nodular lung adenocarcinoma no more than 3cm were identified as a case group based on pathological reports and imaging data, and control group (n=232) of patients consisted of 90 patients with benign nodules and 142 patients with health check-ups. Seven antibodies were quantified in the serum of all participants using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), and the working characteristic curves of the subjects were plotted to determine the cut-off values of the seven autoantibodies related ground-glass nodular lung adenocarcinoma early. Subsequently, the patients were randomly divided into a training and test set at a 7:3 ratio. Eight machine-learning models were constructed to compare the diagnostic performances of multiple models. The model performances were evaluated using sensitivity, specificity, and the area under the curve (AUC).ResultsThe serum levels of the seven autoantibodies in case group were significantly higher than those in the control group (P &amp;lt; 0.05). The combination of the seven autoantibodies demonstrated a significantly enhanced diagnostic efficacy in identifying ground-glass nodular lung adenocarcinoma early when compared to the diagnostic efficacy of the autoantibodies when used respectively. The combined diagnostic approach of the seven autoantibodies exhibited a sensitivity of 84.05%, specificity of 91.85%, and AUC of 0.8870, surpassing the performance of each autoantibody used individually. Furthermore, we determined that Sparrow Search Algorithm-XGBoost (SSA-XGBOOST) had the best diagnostic performance among the models (AUC=0.9265), with MAGEA1, P53, and PGP9.5 having significant feature weight proportions.ConclusionsOur research assessed the diagnostic performance of seven autoantibodies in patients with ground-glass nodules for benign-malignant distinction, and the nodules are all no more than 3cm especially. Our study set cut-off values for seven autoantibodies in identifying GGNs no more than 3cm and constructed a machine learning model for effective diagnosis. This provides a non-invasive and highly discriminative method for the evaluation of ground-glass nodules in high-risk patients.

A Predictive Model Integrating AI Recognition Technology and Biomarkers for Lung Nodule Assessment.

Lung cancer is the most prevalent and lethal cancer globally, necessitating accurate differentiation between benign and malignant pulmonary nodules to guide treatment decisions. This study aims to develop a predictive model that integrates artificial intelligence (AI) analysis with biomarkers to enhance early detection and stratification of lung nodule malignancy. The study retrospectively analyzed the patients with pathologically confirmed pulmonary nodules. AI technology was employed to assess CT features, such as nodule size, solidity, and malignancy probability. Additionally, lung cancer blood biomarkers were measured. Statistical analysis involved univariate analysis to identify significant differences among factors, followed by multivariate logistic regression to establish independent risk factors. The model performance was validated using receiver operating characteristic curves and decision curve analysis (DCA) for internal validation. Furthermore, an external dataset comprising 51 cases of lung nodules was utilized for independent validation to assess robustness and generalizability. A total of 176 patients were included, divided into benign/preinvasive (n = 76) and invasive cancer groups (n = 100). Multivariate analysis identified eight independent predictors of malignancy: lobulation sign, bronchial inflation sign, AI-predicted malignancy probability, nodule nature, diameter, solidity proportion, vascular endothelial growth factor, and lung cancer autoantibodies. The combined predictive model demonstrated high accuracy (area under the curve [AUC] = 0.946). DCA showed that the combined model significantly outperformed the traditional model, and also proved superior to models using AI-predicted malignancy probability or the seven lung cancer autoantibodies plus traditional model. External validation confirmed its robustness (AUC = 0.856), achieving a sensitivity of 0.80 and specificity of 0.86, effectively distinguishing between invasive and noninvasive nodules. This combined approach of AI-based CT features analysis with lung cancer biomarkers provides a more accurate and clinically useful tool for guiding treatment decisions in pulmonary nodule patients. Further studies with larger cohorts are warranted to validate these findings across diverse patient populations.

Retrospective Study of Fine Needle Aspiration Cytology of Patients with Thyroid Nodule in Benghazi in the Period of (2021-2023)

Background: Thyroid nodules constitute a common endocrine disorder, these nodules could be solitary, multiple, cystic, or solid. Increasing age, female gender, iodine deficiency, and history of thyroid radiation all are high risk for thyroid nodules. FNAC representing the most cost-effective diagnostic tool used in the assessment of nodules of the thyroid. Objective of the study: The aim of this study is to evaluate the result of fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) and assess thyroid status using of thyroid hormone obtained from patients with thyroid nodules. Materials and methods: this is a retrospective study, includes collection of data from available cases of thyroid nodules underwent fine needle aspiration between 2021 to 2023, data regarding age, sex, TFT, USS, FNAC was collected from the archive of endocrine out patients clinic of Benghazi Medical Center and from endocrine clinic of Benghazi diabetic center. The analysis was done using the SPSS program. Result: A total of 60 cases were studied, Data was collected from 60 patient’s files for years between 2021 and 2023. The mean age of the patients with FNAC selected for this study was 49.65, and ranged from 21-80 years. The gender distribution shows female predominance in which female cases were 53 (98.33%) while only one case (1.67%) was reported among men. The size of nodules in our cases range from 1cm to 4.5 cm. The mean size of nodules is 1.89cm. In this study the largest group of nodules located in right lobe (21) cases then left lobe (20) cases then both (17) cases and in isthmus only 2 cases. Most of the cases thyroid function test result shows an euthyroid status (38) cases. FNAC of thyroid nodule showed that most of patient’s result diagnosed as benign nodules (47) cases. Conclusion: FNAC is a key tool in diagnosis of thyroid nodule as it has safe, minimally invasive and cost effective diagnostic role.

18F-fluorocholine PET/CT imaging in primary hyperparathyroidism after negative or inconclusive cervical ultrasonography and 99mTc-MIBI scintigraphy.

Primary hyperparathyroidism (pHPT) is a common endocrine disorder characterized by one or more hyperfunctioning parathyroid glands. Definitive surgical treatment demands precise preoperative localisation of hyperfunctioning parathyroid tissue. The purpose of our study is to assess the value of 18F-fluorocholine positron emission tomography (PET/CT) in preoperative localisation of hyperfunctioning parathyroid glands in patients with biochemically confirmed pHPT and negative or inconclusive cervical ultrasonography and 99mTc-MIBI scintigraphy. Our study included 167 patients with biochemically confirmed pHPT and negative or inconclusive cervical ultrasonography and 99mTc-MIBI scintigraphy. In our study 18F-fluorocholine PET/CT detection rate was 92.81% (155/167) with 182 lesions identified. Overall sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, and positive predictive value (PPV) on a per-lesion analysis were 100%, 75%, 95.33%, and 94.74%. Ninety (90/95) lesions were 18F-fluorocholine PET/CT true positive. A total of 86 patients underwent surgical procedures in which 95 histological lesions were removed. Histology revealed 60 adenomas, 25 hyperplasias, 5 lesions described as inconclusive parathyroid tissue, benign lymph node tissue in 4 lesions and 1 false-positive lesion was follicular thyroid adenoma. After surgery, all patients had PTH serum values measured (15min after extirpation or during immediate postoperative recovery). Mean PTH serum values in patients with successful surgery decreased by an average of 62.54% (preoperative PTH 14.74 ± 8.54pmol/L to 6.3 ± 6.8pmol/L). 18F-fluorocholine PET/CT is an accurate, fast, and highly sensitive method for identifying the localization of overactive parathyroid glands in patients with primary hyperparathyroidism.

A real-world comparison of the diagnostic performances of six different TI-RADS guidelines, including ACR-/Kwak-/K-/EU-/ATA-/C-TIRADS

PurposeTo compare the diagnostic performance of six different currently available guidelines including the American College of Radiology Thyroid Imaging and Reporting Data System (ACR-TIRADS), Kwak-TIRADS, Korean TIRADS (K-TIRADS), European TIRADS (EU-TIRADS), American Thyroid Association (ATA) and Chinese TIRADS (C-TIRADS), in differentiating malignant from benign thyroid nodules (TN). Materials and methodsIn this single-center study, between January-2007 and September-2023, ultrasound (US) images of TNs that were pathologically proven either by surgery or by fine needle aspiration biopsy (FNAB), were retrospectively evaluated and categorized according to six different currently available guidelines. Area under curve (AUC), sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values (PPV and NPV, respectively) and miss rates for malignancy (MRM) were calculated for each guideline. ResultsA total of 829 TNs (n = 234 malignant and n = 595 benign) were included. AUC, sensitivity, specificity, PPV, NPV and accuracy for ACR-TIRADS were 0.786, 99.8 %, 27.1 %, 31.92 %, 99.73 % and 54.6 %, respectively; for Kwak-TIRADS 0.839, 97.8 %, 42.1 %, 36.29 %, 98.11 % and 63.1 %, respectively; for K-TIRADS 0.797, 97.6 %, 41.6 %, 36.01 %, 84.85 % and 62.8, respectively, for EU-TIRADS 0.766, 97.8 %, 35.6 %, 33.89 %, 97.92 % and 59.1 %, respectively, for ATA 0.788, 97.5 %, 49.8 %, 32.86 %, 88.16 % and 64.2 %, respectively and for C-TIRADS 0.842, 0 %, 92.8 %, 54.3 %, 39.53 %, 90.42 %, and 68.8 % respectively. MRM regarding ACR-/Kwak-/K-/EU−/ATA-/C-TIRADS were 2.2 %, 0.5 %, 2.9 %, 2.5 %, 3.3 % and 0.1 %, respectively. ConclusionSix different currently available TIRADS guidelines can provide effective differentiation of malignant TNs from benign ones with similar diagnostic performances. However; C-TIRADS offered the highest AUC and the lowest MRM than the other guidelines, in this series.

Multimodality high-frequency ultrasound in the evaluation of cervical malignant lymphoma before biopsy.

To investigate the application value of multimodality ultrasound in the evaluation of lymphoma. The regression models were performed to determine whether there were differences in differentiating lymphoma from benign lymph nodes. Receiver operator curves were drawn to evaluate the diagnostic performance of three ultrasound modalities. Multivariate analysis showed statistically significant differences in the long to short axes ratio, visibility of the hilum, Adler grade of blood flow, cortical echo, maximum elasticity, elastic color pattern, enhancement distribution, and Area. The combination of three modalities achieved a sensitivity of 95.6%, specificity of 87.5%, accuracy of 93.5%, positive predicted value of 97.0%, and negative predicted value of 82.4%. Multimodal ultrasound can provide valuable differential diagnosis and improve the diagnostic performance.

Long-term clinical outcomes of thermal ablation for benign thyroid nodules and unresolved issues: a comprehensive systematic review.

Thermal ablation is widely accepted as an effective and safe method for treating benign thyroid nodules. Many studies reporting short-term results have consistently demonstrated the efficacy and safety of thermal ablation. However, as the clinical application of thermal ablation grows and follow-up periods extend, long-term clinical outcomes of thermal ablation have revealed several issues, including regrowth and diagnosis of malignancy in ablated lesions. In this systematic review, we analyze the long-term clinical outcomes of thyroid thermal ablation, focusing on regrowth, delayed surgery, and the potential for malignancy after thermal ablation and propose solutions to address these unresolved issues and enhance the management of benign thyroid nodules through thermal ablation.

The study on ultrasound image classification using a dual-branch model based on Resnet50 guided by U-net segmentation results

In recent years, the incidence of nodular thyroid diseases has been increasing annually. Ultrasonography has become a routine diagnostic tool for thyroid nodules due to its high real-time capabilities and low invasiveness. However, thyroid images obtained from current ultrasound tests often have low resolution and are plagued by significant noise interference. Regional differences in medical conditions and varying levels of physician experience can impact the accuracy and efficiency of diagnostic results. With the advancement of deep learning technology, deep learning models are used to identify whether a nodule in a thyroid ultrasound image is benign or malignant. This helps to close the gap between doctors’ experience and equipment differences, improving the accuracy of the initial diagnosis of thyroid nodules. To cope with the problem that thyroid ultrasound images contain complex background and noise as well as poorly defined local features. in this paper, we first construct an improved ResNet50 classification model that uses a two-branch input and incorporates a global attention lightening module. This model is used to improve the accuracy of benign and malignant nodule classification in thyroid ultrasound images and to reduce the computational effort due to the two-branch structure.We constructed a U-net segmentation model incorporating our proposed ACR module, which uses hollow convolution with different dilation rates to capture multi-scale contextual information for feature extraction of nodules in thyroid ultrasound images and uses the results of the segmentation task as an auxiliary branch for the classification task to guide the classification model to focus on the lesion region more efficiently in the case of weak local features. The classification model is guided to focus on the lesion region more efficiently, and the classification and segmentation sub-networks are respectively improved specifically for this study, which is used to improve the accuracy of classifying the benign and malignant nature of the nodules in thyroid ultrasound images. The experimental results show that the four evaluation metrics of accuracy, precision, recall, and f1 of the improved model are 96.01%, 93.3%, 98.8%, and 96.0%, respectively. The improvements were 5.7%, 1.6%, 13.1%, and 7.4%, respectively, compared with the baseline classification model.

Serum small extracellular vesicles-derived BST2 as a biomarker for papillary thyroid microcarcinoma promotes lymph node metastasis.

Papillary thyroid microcarcinoma (PTMC), although frequently indolent, could be aggressive in a few patients, leading to lymph node metastasis (LNM) and worsened prognosis. To explore the role of protein profiling of small extracellular vesicles (sEVs) in the auxiliary diagnosis and risk stratification of PTMC, proteins in serum sEVs isolated from PTMC patients with (N = 10) and without (N = 10) LNM and benign thyroid nodule (BN) patients (N = 9) were profiled via a bioinformatics-integrated data-independent acquisition proteomic technique. The performance of candidate proteins as diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers in PTMC was assessed via receiver operating characteristic analysis. We found that serum sEVs from PTMC patients promoted the proliferation and migration of human papillary thyroid cancer (PTC) cells and tube formation in human lymphatic endothelial cells (HLECs). SEV proteins from PTMC patients with and without LNM have differential expression profiles, with bone marrow stromal cell antigen 2 (BST2) being best associated with PTMC progression. Through knockdown and overexpression, we proved that the high expression of sEV-derived BST2 was bound up with higher proliferation and migration ability of PTC cells as well as stronger lymphangiogenesis in HLECs. This study brought insight into the differential sEV-protein profile with or without LNM in PTMC. The serum sEV-BST2 may contribute to PTMC progression and LNM and may have diagnostic, prognostic, and therapeutic implications.

Effectiveness of diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (DW-MRI) in the differentiation of thyroid nodules

BackgroundThe aim was to investigate which of two different b values (b 500 s/mm² and b 800 s/mm²) are more effective in the differentiation of benign-malignant nodules using Diffusion-Weighted Magnetic Resonance Imaging (DW-MRI).Materials and methodsPatients presenting with a preoperative diagnosis of nodular goiter or multinodular goiter were included in this study. These patients underwent neck MRI examinations, and their cases were analyzed retrospectively. A total of 26 patients were included in the study. A total of 46 nodules meeting the study criteria were examined. Measurements were performed on Apparent Diffusion Coefficient (ADC) maps of patients at two different b values (b 500 s/mm² and b 800 s/mm²), and the results were compared with histopathological findings.ResultsOut of a total of 46 nodules, 37 were identified as benign, and 9 as malignant based on histopathological analysis. The mean ADC value at b 500 was lower in malignant nodules (1259.65 ± 328.13) compared to benign nodules (19037.48 ± 472.74). Similarly, the mean ADC value at b 800 was lower in malignant nodules (1081.72 ± 200.23) compared to benign nodules (1610.44 ± 418.06). When a cut-off value of 1.1 × 10− 3 was accepted for the differentiation of pathology, the sensitivity for distinguishing pathology with ADC values at b 500 was 83.3%, with a specificity of 90.0%, and for ADC values at b 800, the sensitivity was 71.4%, with a specificity of 89.7%.ConclusionDW-MRI without the need for contrast agent administration is a useful method in the differentiation of benign-malignant thyroid nodules.