Analysis of clinicopathological features of thyroid nodules and assessment of preoperative diagnostic methods for the nature of nodules: a single-center study / 中华全科医师杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective:To analyze clinicopathological features of thyroid nodules and to assess preoperative diagnostic methods for the nature of nodules.Methods:The clinical and pathological data of 2 132 patients [456 males and 1 676 females with a mean age of (48.7±11.4) year] with thyroid nodules who underwent surgical treatment in our hospital from January 2017 to December 2019 were retrospectively analyzed. Among all patients, 433 nodules had complete fine needle aspiration biopsy cytology (FNAC) and ultrasound results were selected for further assessment. According to preoperative high-resolution ultrasound images, the nodules were classified by Kwak thyroid imaging and reporting data systems (Kwak TI-RADS) and American College of Radiology TI-RADS (ACR TI-RADS). ROC curve was used to assess the diagnostic efficacy of the two ultrasound modes and FNAC.Results:In 2 132 patients with thyroid nodules, 743 were benign and 1 389 were malignant. In all malignant cases 1 119 were females, accounting for 80.56%. In newly diagnosed benign nodules, 67.97% (505/743) were found by examination, and 32.03% (238/743) were self-found. In malignant nodules, 48.67% (676/1 389) were detected by examination, 51.33% (713/1 389) were self-found. The malignant rate of nodule diameter≤1 cm was the lowest in 1 118 patients with complete thyroid ultrasound data. In 628, 722 and 782 patients who underwent surgical treatment in 2017, 2018 and 2019, the proportion of malignant nodules was 56.37% (354/628), 66.48% (480/722) and 70.97% (555/782); the proportion of benign nodules was 43.63% (274/628), 33.52% (242/722) and 29.03% (227/782), respectively. Among all malignant nodules, papillary carcinoma accounted for 95.18% (1 322/1 389), followed by follicular carcinoma 4.32% (60/1 389), myeloid carcinoma 0.43% (60/1 389) and undifferentiated carcinoma 0.07%(1/1 389). Among all benign nodules, the proportion of nodular goiter was the highest (95.56%, 710/743). The proportion of patients undergoing preoperative FNAC in 2017, 2018 and 2019 was 57.96% (364/628), 63.43% (458/722) and 69.44% (543/782), respectively;the coincidence rate of preoperative FNAC and postoperative pathological diagnosis was 46.15% (168/364), 52.18% (239/458) and 62.06% (337/543), respectively. Among 433 nodules with both FNAC and ultrasound data, the areas under the ROC curve(AUC)of FNA, ACR TI-RADS and Kawk TI-RADS were 0.91, 0.74 and 0.59, respectively ( P<0.05). The sensitivity of ACR TI-RADS and Kawk TI-RADS was 84.34%, 37.35% ( P<0.05) and specificity was 56.29% and 79.14% ( P=0.075). Conclusions:The study reveals that from 2017 to 2019, both the number of cases and malignant rate of thyroid nodules shows a rising trend, meanwhile the application rate of preoperative FNAC and its coincidence rate with postoperative pathology shows an increasing trend. FNAC, ACR Ti-RADS and Kawk TI-RADS have certain diagnostic efficacy in differentiating benign and malignant thyroid nodules, and the diagnostic value of FNAC is the highest followed by ACR TI-RADS and Kawk TI-RADS.