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Zhou T, Xu L, Shi J, Zhang Y, Lin X, Wang Y, Hu T, Xu R, Xie L, Sun L, Li D, Zhang W, Chen C, Wang W, Xu C, Kong F, Xun Y, Yu L, Zhang S, Ding J, Wu F, Tang T, Zhan S, Zhang J, Wu G, Zheng H, Kong D, Luo D. US of thyroid nodules: can AI-assisted diagnostic system compete with fine needle aspiration? Eur Radiol 2024; 34:1324-1333. [PMID: 37615763 DOI: 10.1007/s00330-023-10132-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/11/2023] [Revised: 06/20/2023] [Accepted: 07/04/2023] [Indexed: 08/25/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Artificial intelligence (AI) systems can diagnose thyroid nodules with similar or better performance than radiologists. Little is known about how this performance compares with that achieved through fine needle aspiration (FNA). This study aims to compare the diagnostic yields of FNA cytopathology alone and combined with BRAFV600E mutation analysis and an AI diagnostic system. METHODS The ultrasound images of 637 thyroid nodules were collected in three hospitals. The diagnostic efficacies of an AI diagnostic system, FNA-based cytopathology, and BRAFV600E mutation analysis were evaluated in terms of sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, and the κ coefficient with respect to the gold standard, defined by postsurgical pathology and consistent benign outcomes from two combined FNA and mutation analysis examinations performed with a half-year interval. RESULTS The malignancy threshold for the AI system was selected according to the Youden index from a retrospective cohort of 346 nodules and then applied to a prospective cohort of 291 nodules. The combination of FNA cytopathology according to the Bethesda criteria and BRAFV600E mutation analysis showed no significant difference from the AI system in terms of accuracy for either cohort in our multicenter study. In addition, for 45 included indeterminate Bethesda category III and IV nodules, the accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity of the AI system were 84.44%, 95.45%, and 73.91%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS The AI diagnostic system showed similar diagnostic performance to FNA cytopathology combined with BRAFV600E mutation analysis. Given its advantages in terms of operability, time efficiency, non-invasiveness, and the wide availability of ultrasonography, it provides a new alternative for thyroid nodule diagnosis. CLINICAL RELEVANCE STATEMENT Thyroid ultrasonic artificial intelligence shows statistically equivalent performance for thyroid nodule diagnosis to FNA cytopathology combined with BRAFV600E mutation analysis. It can be widely applied in hospitals and clinics to assist radiologists in thyroid nodule screening and is expected to reduce the need for relatively invasive FNA biopsies. KEY POINTS • In a retrospective cohort of 346 nodules, the evaluated artificial intelligence (AI) system did not significantly differ from fine needle aspiration (FNA) cytopathology alone and combined with gene mutation analysis in accuracy. • In a prospective multicenter cohort of 291 nodules, the accuracy of the AI diagnostic system was not significantly different from that of FNA cytopathology either alone or combined with gene mutation analysis. • For 45 indeterminate Bethesda category III and IV nodules, the AI system did not perform significantly differently from BRAFV600E mutation analysis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tianhan Zhou
- Department of Surgical Oncology, Affiliated Hangzhou First People's Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China
- The Department of General Surgery, Hangzhou TCM Hospital Affiliated to Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Lei Xu
- Zhejiang Qiushi Institute for Mathematical Medicine, Hangzhou, China
| | - Jingjing Shi
- Department of Surgical Oncology, Affiliated Hangzhou First People's Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China
| | - Yu Zhang
- Department of Surgical Oncology, Affiliated Hangzhou First People's Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China
| | - Xiangfeng Lin
- Department of Thyroid Surgery, Affiliated Yantai Yuhuangding Hospital, Qingdao University, Yantai, China
| | - Yuanyuan Wang
- Department of Thyroid Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Henan University, Zhengzhou, China
| | - Tao Hu
- The Fourth Clinical Medical College, Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Rujun Xu
- Department of Pathology, Affiliated Hangzhou First People's Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China
| | - Lesi Xie
- Department of Pathology, Affiliated Hangzhou First People's Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China
| | - Lijuan Sun
- Department of Pathology, Affiliated Hangzhou First People's Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China
| | - Dandan Li
- Department of Pathology, Affiliated Hangzhou First People's Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China
| | - Wenhua Zhang
- Department of Pathology, Affiliated Hangzhou First People's Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China
| | - Chuanghua Chen
- Department of Ultrasonography, Affiliated Hangzhou First People's Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China
| | - Wei Wang
- Department of Ultrasonography, Affiliated Hangzhou First People's Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China
| | - Chenke Xu
- Department of Ultrasonography, Affiliated Hangzhou First People's Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China
| | - Fanlei Kong
- Department of Ultrasonography, Affiliated Hangzhou First People's Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China
| | - Yanping Xun
- Department of Translational Medicine Research Center, Affiliated Hangzhou First People's Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China
| | - Lingying Yu
- Department of Endocrinology, Affiliated Hangzhou First People's Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China
| | - Shirong Zhang
- Department of Translational Medicine Research Center, Affiliated Hangzhou First People's Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China
| | - Jinwang Ding
- Department of Head and Neck Surgery, Cancer hospital of the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hangzhou, China
| | - Fan Wu
- Department of Surgical Oncology, Affiliated Hangzhou First People's Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China
| | - Tian Tang
- The Fourth Clinical Medical College, Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Siqi Zhan
- The Fourth Clinical Medical College, Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Jiaoping Zhang
- Department of Surgical Oncology, Affiliated Hangzhou First People's Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China
| | - Guoyang Wu
- Department of General Surgery, Affiliated Zhongshan Hospital, Xiamen University, Xiamen, China.
| | - Haitao Zheng
- Department of Thyroid Surgery, Affiliated Yantai Yuhuangding Hospital, Qingdao University, Yantai, China.
| | - Dexing Kong
- College of Mathematical Medicine, Zhejiang Normal University, Jinhua, China.
- School of Mathematical Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China.
| | - Dingcun Luo
- Department of Surgical Oncology, Affiliated Hangzhou First People's Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China.
- The Fourth Clinical Medical College, Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Hangzhou, China.
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Lan Z, Yang F, Zhang J, Lan Y, Li H, He R. Diagnostic Value and Challenges of BRAF V600E Molecular Testing and Thyroid Fine-Needle Aspiration Cytology: A Retrospective Study from a Tertiary Institution in Southern Hunan Province, China. Acta Cytol 2023; 67:629-638. [PMID: 37708867 DOI: 10.1159/000534138] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/03/2023] [Accepted: 09/11/2023] [Indexed: 09/16/2023]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Combined thyroid fine-needle aspiration (FNA) cytology and valine-to-glutamate substitution at codon 600 of B-Raf proto-oncogene, serine/threonine kinase (BRAF V600E) mutation detection are procedures used for diagnosing thyroid nodules in many Chinese tertiary institutions. This retrospective study at our institution aimed to explore the effectiveness and challenges of the combined approach in diagnosing thyroid nodules and the correlation between BRAF V600E mutation status and behavior of papillary thyroid carcinoma. METHODS Thyroid FNA cytology and BRAF V600E mutation detection results were reviewed between November 2020 and July 2022. A total of 623 patients, each of whom underwent thyroidectomy and final pathological examination after FNA cytology diagnosis, were included in the study. The relationship between the BRAF V600E mutational status and pathological parameters was analyzed using the χ2 test. The effectiveness and challenges of FNA cytology alone and the combined procedure were also evaluated based on the final pathology. RESULTS Of 623 patients, 591 were diagnosed with papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC), of which 456 were positive for the BRAF V600E mutation. It demonstrated near-perfect specificity for identifying PTC, and its incidence rate showed an age-specific curve with an inverted U-shaped distribution. The final pathological examination showed that the combined procedure had a higher sensitivity (83.91%) than FNA cytology alone (63.45%) for distinguishing PTC from other lesions (p < 0.001). Mutational status was associated with a larger maximum tumor diameter (p = 0.003) and a tendency of capsular invasion (p = 0.0542) but possibly unrelated to central lymph node metastasis (p = 0.1846). Nodular goiters accounted for most benign entities initially designated as Bethesda categories III-V. CONCLUSION BRAF V600E mutational analysis complements cytopathology and improves the PTC detection rate in FNA cytology samples due to the high prevalence of the mutation in China. BRAF V600E mutation does not show a statistical correlation with tumor aggressiveness. Morphological pitfalls such as histocyte aggregation, cystic-lining cells in nodular goiters, and oncocytes in Hashimoto's thyroiditis, were overwhelmingly found in BRAF V600E-negative specimens.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhihua Lan
- Department of Pathology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Hengyang Medical School, University of South China, Hengyang, China,
| | - Fang Yang
- Department of Anorectal Surgery of Traditional Chinese Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital, Hengyang Medical School, University of South China, Hengyang, China
| | - Jing Zhang
- Department of Pathology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Hengyang Medical School, University of South China, Hengyang, China
| | - Ya Lan
- School of Basic Medical Sciences, Henan University of Science and Technology, Luoyang, China
| | - Hongtao Li
- Department of Pathology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Hengyang Medical School, University of South China, Hengyang, China
| | - Rongfang He
- Department of Pathology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Hengyang Medical School, University of South China, Hengyang, China
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Antonia TD, Maria LI, Ancuta-Augustina GG. Preoperative evaluation of thyroid nodules - Diagnosis and management strategies. Pathol Res Pract 2023; 246:154516. [PMID: 37196471 DOI: 10.1016/j.prp.2023.154516] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/20/2023] [Accepted: 05/06/2023] [Indexed: 05/19/2023]
Abstract
Thyroid cancer is the most common endocrine malignancy, with increasing incidence over the past few decades. Fine needle aspiration (FNA) biopsy is the gold standard for preoperative diagnosis of thyroid malignancies. Nevertheless, this method renders indeterminate results in up to 30% of the cases. Therefore, these patients are often referred to unnecessary surgery to establish the diagnosis. To improve the accuracy of preoperative diagnosis, several other ways, such as ultrasonography, elastography, immunohistochemical analysis, genetic testing, and core needle biopsy, have been developed and can be used either in association with or as an alternative to FNA. This review aims to evaluate all these diagnostic tools to determine the most appropriate way of managing thyroid nodules and subsequently improve the selection of cases referred to surgery.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tapoi Dana Antonia
- Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Department of Pathology, Bucharest, Romania; University Emergency Hospital, Department of Pathology, Bucharest, Romania
| | - Lambrescu Ioana Maria
- Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Department of Cellular and Molecular Biology and Histology, Bucharest, Romania; Victor Babes National Institute of Pathology, Bucharest, Romania.
| | - Gheorghisan-Galateanu Ancuta-Augustina
- Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Department of Cellular and Molecular Biology and Histology, Bucharest, Romania; CI Parhon National Institute of Endocrinology, Bucharest, Romania
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