Abstract:
Objective To evaluate the diagnostic value of 99TcmO4 − thyroid imaging and serum thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) for differentiating benign and malignant thyroid imaging reporting and data system (TI-RADS) category-4 thyroid nodules (TNs).
Methods The clinical data (thyroid ultrasonography, 99TcmO4 − thyroid scintigraphy, and TSH levels) of 201 TN patients who underwent surgery or fine-needle aspiration cytology diagnosis from October 2017 to December 2019 at the Affiliated Hospital of Guilin Medical College were analyzed retrospectively. Among these patients, 54 were males and 147 were females, aged 20–75 (49.1±13.2) years. Post-operative histopathology result was used as the gold standard to classify the patients as malignant TN and benign TN groups. The TN group was divided into three subgroups based on the maximum nodule diameter through ultrasonography: diameter ≤ 10 mm, 10 mm < diameter ≤ 20 mm, diameter > 20 mm. The basic data of the two groups were compared using two-sample t-test and independent four-cell table chi-square test, and one-way ANOVA was used for the comparison among groups. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was adopted to determine the optimal cutoff value of TSH between malignant and benign TNs, and the diagnostic efficiency was calculated. Trend chi-square test was conducted to assess the relationship between TSH level and thyroid carcinoma.
Results All 201 patients had a single TN, of which 62 were in malignant TN group, 139 were in benign TN group. The histopathological findings revealed that among the 201 TNs, 62 were thyroid cancer (30.8%), 33 were nodular goiter (16.4%), 81 were thyroid adenomas (40.3%), and 25 were nodular goiter with adenoma (12.4%). Ultrasonography results revealed that 81 were TI-RADS 4a nodules (40.3%), including 9 thyroid cancer (11%); 70 were TI-RADS 4b nodules (34.8%), including 20 thyroid cancer (29%); and 50 were TI-RADS 4c nodules (24.9%), including 33 thyroid cancer (66%). The findings of 99TcmO4 − thyroid scintigraphy demonstrated that 110 were cold nodules (54.7%), including 40 thyroid cancer (36.4%); 67 were cool nodules (33.3%), including 22 thyroid cancer (33%); and 24 were warm nodules (11.9%), without malignant TNs. The malignant rate of TI-RADS 4c cool or cold nodules was determined to be the highest by using the combination of 99TcmO4 − thyroid scintigraphy and ultrasonography (72%, 33/46). The preoperative serum TSH levels of the malignant TN group (1.59±0.32) μIU/mL were higher than those of the benign TN group (1.29±0.45) μIU/mL, and the difference was statistically significant (t=4.752, P<0.01). Trend chi-square test showed that a higher TSH level was correlated with a higher incidence of thyroid cancer (χ2=27.513, P<0.01). However, no statistical differences in preoperative serum TSH levels were found among the three different-diameter malignant TN groups (F=0.223, P=0.800). ROC curve analysis showed the optimum cutoff value of TSH for differential diagnosis between malignant and benign TNs. The diagnostic efficiency of TSH was the highest at 1.525 μIU/mL, with an area under curve of 0.741 (95%CI: 0.666–0.816), specificity of 75.8%, and sensitivity of 70.5%.
Conclusions 99TcmO4 − thyroid scintigraphy may help evaluate the 99TcmO4 − uptake functions of TNs, which clearly improved the diagnostic accuracy for TI-RADS category-4 TNs in clinical work. The role of preoperative serum TSH in the presurgical evaluation of TNs remains unclear.