Malignancy risk of thyroid nodules with nonshadowing echogenic foci

Ultrasonography

卷:40

Byeong-Joo Noh¹  Wooyul Paik²  Hye Yun Gwon²  Dong Gyu Na²  Yu-Mee Sohn³ 

[1] Department of Pathology, Gangneung Asan Hospital, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Gangneung, Korea;

[2] Department of Radiology, Gangneung Asan Hospital, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Gangneung, Korea;

[3] Department of Radiology, Kyung Hee University Hospital, Kyung Hee University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea;

关键词: thyroid;    ultrasonography;    thyroid neoplasms;    thyroid nodule;   

DOI  :  10.14366/usg.20012

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Purpose This study was conducted to determine the malignancy risk and diagnostic value of various types of nonshadowing echogenic foci (NEF) in the risk stratification of thyroid nodules. Methods A total of 1,018 consecutive thyroid nodules (≥1 cm) with final diagnoses were included. The presence of NEF was determined and types of NEF were classified according to the presence of a comet tail artifact (CTA), location, and size through a prospective evaluation. The associations with malignancy, malignancy risk, and diagnostic value of various types of NEF were assessed. Results Intrasolid punctate NEF without CTA was the only type of NEF that was an independent predictor of malignancy (P<0.001). The malignancy risk of intrasolid punctate NEF without CTA was substantially higher in solid hypoechoic nodules than in isoechoic or nonsolid nodules (71.3% vs. 9.2%, P<0.001). In solid hypoechoic nodules, slightly increased sensitivity (70.8% vs. 67.9%) for malignancy and a similar malignancy risk (71.4% vs. 71.3%) were observed for intrasolid punctate NEF (with or without CTA) and intrasolid punctate NEF without CTA, respectively. NEF with CTA at the margin of the cystic component was not associated with malignancy or benignity in nonsolid nodules (P>0.05). Conclusion Intrasolid punctate NEF without CTA was the only independent predictor of malignancy. However, solid hypoechoic nodules with intrasolid punctate NEF should be classified as high-suspicion nodules regardless of coexisting CTA. Other types of NEF had no added value for detecting malignancy compared to intrasolid punctate NEF without CTA.

【 授权许可】

Unknown