Combined value of Virtual Touch tissue quantification and conventional sonographic features for differentiating benign and malignant thyroid nodules smaller than 10 mm

Multimodal Ultrasound Radiomic Technology for Diagnosing Benign and Malignant Thyroid Nodules of Ti-Rads 4-5: A Multicenter Study

This study included 468 patients and aimed to use multimodal ultrasound radiomic technology to predict the malignancy of TI-RADS 4-5 thyroid nodules. First, radiomic features are extracted from conventional two-dimensional ultrasound (transverse ultrasound and longitudinal ultrasound), strain elastography (SE), and shear-wave-imaging (SWE) images. Next, the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) is used to screen out features related to malignant tumors. Finally, a support vector machine (SVM) is used to predict the malignancy of thyroid nodules. The Shapley additive explanation (SHAP) method was used to intuitively analyze the specific contributions of radiomic features to the model's prediction. Our proposed model has AUCs of 0.971 and 0.856 in the training and testing sets, respectively. Our proposed model has a higher prediction accuracy compared to those of models with other modal combinations. In the external validation set, the AUC of the model is 0.779, which proves that the model has good generalization ability. Moreover, SHAP analysis was used to examine the overall impacts of various radiomic features on model predictions and local explanations for individual patient evaluations. Our proposed multimodal ultrasound radiomic model can effectively integrate different data collected using multiple ultrasound sensors and has good diagnostic performance for TI-RADS 4-5 thyroid nodules.

Predicting Malignancy of Thyroid Micronodules: Radiomics Analysis Based on Two Types of Ultrasound Elastography Images

RATIONALE AND OBJECTIVES

To develop a multimodal ultrasound radiomics nomogram for accurate classification of thyroid micronodules.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A retrospective study including 181 thyroid micronodules within 179 patients was conducted. Radiomics features were extracted from strain elastography (SE), shear wave elastography (SWE) and B-mode ultrasound (BMUS) images. Minimum redundancy maximum relevance and least absolute shrinkage and selection operator algorithms were used to select malignancy-related features. BMUS, SE, and SWE radiomics scores (Rad-scores) were then constructed. Multivariable logistic regression was conducted using radiomics signatures along with clinical data, and a nomogram was ultimately established. The calibration, discriminative, and clinical usefulness were considered to evaluate its performance. A clinical prediction model was also built using independent clinical risk factors for comparison.

RESULTS

An aspect ratio ≥ 1, mean elasticity index, BMUS Rad-score, SE Rad-score, and SWE Rad-score were identified as the independent predictors for predicting malignancy of thyroid micronodules by multivariable logistic regression. The radiomics nomogram based on these characteristics showed favorable calibration and discriminative capabilities (AUCs: 0.903 and 0.881 for training and validation cohorts, respectively), all outperforming clinical prediction model (AUCs: 0.791 and 0.626, respectively). The decision curve analysis also confirmed clinical usefulness of the nomogram. The significant improvement of net reclassification index and integrated discriminatory improvement indicated that multimodal ultrasound radiomics signatures might work as new imaging markers for classifying thyroid micronodules.

CONCLUSION

The nomogram combining multimodal ultrasound radiomics features and clinical factors has the potential to be used for accurate diagnosis of thyroid micronodules in the clinic.

Association between diagnostic efficacy of acoustic radiation force impulse for benign and malignant thyroid nodules and the presence or absence of non-papillary thyroid cancer: A meta-analysis

Purpose

The aim of this study was to investigate the diagnostic efficacy of Acoustic Radiation Force Impulse (ARFI) for benign and malignant thyroid nodules in the presence and absence of non-papillary thyroid cancer (NPTC) and to determine the cut-off values of Shear Wave Velocity (SWV) for the highest diagnostic efficacy of Virtual Touch Quantification (VTQ) and Virtual Touch Tissue Imaging and Quantification (VTIQ).

Methods

The diagnostic accuracy of ARFI for benign and malignant thyroid nodules was assessed by pooling sensitivity, specificity and area under the curve (AUC) in each group in the presence and absence of both non-papillary thyroid glands, using histology and cytology as the gold standard. All included studies were divided into two groups according to VTQ and VTIQ, and each group was ranked according to the magnitude of the SWV cutoff value to determine the SWV cutoff interval with the highest diagnostic efficacy for VTQ and VTIQ.

Results

A total of 57 studies were collected on the evaluation of ARFI for the diagnosis of benign and malignant thyroid nodules. The results showed that the presence of non-papillary thyroid carcinoma led to differences in the specificity of VTIQ for the identification of benign and malignant thyroid nodules, and the differences were statistically significant. In addition, the diagnostic efficacy of VTQ was best when the cutoff value of SWV was in the interval of 2.48-2.55 m/s, and the diagnostic efficacy of VTIQ was best when the cutoff value of SWV was in the interval of 3.01-3.15 m/s.

Conclusion

VTQ and VTIQ have a high diagnostic value for benign and malignant thyroid nodules; however, when the malignant nodules in the study contain non-papillary thyroid carcinoma occupying the thyroid gland, the findings should be viewed in a comprehensive manner.

Malignancy risk stratification of thyroid nodules smaller than 10 mm with ACR-TIRADS, K-TIRADS, and ATA-2015 guidelines: a prospective study

Background

Small thyroid nodules (≤ 10 mm) are common findings in thyroid ultrasonography. The first purpose of this study was to compare the performance of three guidelines in the diagnosis of malignancy for small thyroid nodules. The second aim was to find the ultrasonographic characteristics potentially associated with the risk of malignancy. This prospective cross-sectional study was performed on the patients with a diagnosis of small thyroid nodules (≤ 10 mm), who were rereferred to the radiologists for sonography and FNA. Sonographic features were recorded and scored according to the American College of Radiology-Thyroid Imaging Reporting and Data System (ACR-TIRADS), American Thyroid Association (ATA-2015), and Korean-TIRADS (K-TIRADS). Finally, FNA was conducted and cytological findings were reported.

Results

In total, 287 thyroid nodules from 256 subjects (64 men and 192 women) were finally included in the study. The accuracy of ACR-TIRADS categories TR5 and TR4/5 was 88.9% and 72.1%, respectively. This rate for ATA-2015 classes high suspicion and intermediate suspicion/high suspicion was 88.9% and 82.6%, respectively. For K-TIRADS classes 5 and 4/5, the diagnostic accuracy was 89.6% and 82.9%, respectively. Significant direct associations were found between malignancy and punctate echogenic foci (odds ratio [OR] = 6.46), hypoechogenicity (OR = 6.39), ill-defined margin (OR = 4.38), and irregular margin (OR = 7.33).

Conclusion

The differences in the strength of the three guidelines in the prediction of the malignancy should be considered by clinicians and radiologists in the management of thyroid nodules smaller than 10 mm.

MALİGN VE BENİGN TIROİD NODÜLLERİNİN AYRIMINDA ARFI ELASTOGRAFİ

AMAÇ: Malign ve benign tiroid nodüllerini ayırd etmede “Acoustic Radiation Force Impulse” (ARFI) elastografinin “virtual touch tissue elastografi” modunun tanısal performansını değerlendirmek MATERYAL VE METOD: Çapı > 5 mm olan ikiyüzdört adet solid ve ağırlıklı solid nodül prospektif olarak ultrasonografi, ARFI elastografinin VTQ modu, ince iğne aspirasyon biyopsisi ve endike olduğunda doku patolojisi ile değerlendirildi. Yüzdoksanaltı nodülde üç makaslama dalgası hızı (shear wave velocity-SWV) ölçümü yapıldı. Her bir nodül için SWV oranı, nodülün SWV'sinin ortalama değerinin komşu parankimin ortalama değerine bölünmesiyle hesaplandı. SWV değeri ve SWV oranının tanısal performansı, ROC analizi ile değerlendirildi. SONUÇLAR: Benign ve malign tiroid nodüllerinde normal parankimdeki ortalama SWV değeri sırasıyla 2,13±0,44 m/s, 2,06±0,80 m/s ve 2,06±0,88 m/s idi. SWVoranları benign tiroid nodülleri için 0.97±0.37 ve malign tiroid nodülleri için 1.02±0.40 idi. Ortalama SWV değerleri (t=0,008) (P=0,994) veya SWV oranları (t=0,596; P=0,527) açısından benign ve malign nodüller arasında anlamlı fark yoktu. Maligniteyi öngörmek için herhangi bir cut-off noktası bulunmadı. Alt grup analizinde, SWV ve SWV oranı için AUC'ler, ˂10 mm ve ≥10 mm nodüller arasında önemli ölçüde farklıydı. Bunun dışında herhangi iki grup arasında anlamlı fark saptanmadı (tümü P>0.05). SWV ve SWV oranı için en iyi cut-off noktaları, <10 mm nodüller için sırasıyla SWV için 2.59 m/s ve SWV oranı için 1.0 idi. SONUÇ: ARFİ görüntülemenin VTQ modu, maligniteyi saptamak için iyi bir tanısal performansa sahip değildir ve gereksiz tiroid biyopsilerinin azaltılmasına katkıda bulunamaz.

Malign ve benign tiroid nodüllerinin ayrımında ARFI elastografi

Aim: To examine the diagnostic performance of virtual touch tissue quantification (VTQ) mode of Acoustic Radiation Force Impulse (ARFI) elastography imaging in differentiating benign and malignant thyroid nodules. Materials and Methods: Two hundred four solid and mostly solid nodules >5mm were prospectively evaluated with ultrasonography, VTQ mode of ARFI elastography, fine needle aspiration biopsy, and when indicated with tissue pathology. Three shear-wave velocities (SWV) measurements were done in 196 nodules. The SWV ratio for each nodule was calculated as the mean value of the SWV of the nodule divided by the mean value of the adjacent parenchyma. The diagnostic performance of SWV value and SWV-ratio were assessed by a receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis. Results: The mean SWV value in the normal parenchyma, in benign and malign thyroid nodules, were 2.13±0.44 m/s, 2.06±0.80 m/s, and 2.06±0.88 m/s respectively. The SWV-ratios were 0.97±0.37 for benign thyroid nodules and 1.02±0.40 for malignant thyroid nodules. There was no significant difference between benign and malign nodules in terms of mean SWV values (t=0.008) (P=0.994) or SWV-ratios (t =0.596; P=0.527). No cut-off point was found to predict malignancy. In subgroup analysis, AUCs for the SWV and SWV-ratio were significantly different between nodules ˂10 mm and those ≥10 mm, but not with any other two groups (all P>0.05) (Table-2). The cutoff points for the differential diagnosis were 2.59 m/s for SWV and 1.0 for SWV- ratio respectively for nodules

A review on methods for diagnosis of breast cancer cells and tissues

Breast cancer has seriously been threatening physical and mental health of women in the world, and its morbidity and mortality also show clearly upward trend in China over time. Through inquiry, we find that survival rate of patients with early‐stage breast cancer is significantly higher than those with middle‐ and late‐stage breast cancer, hence, it is essential to conduct research to quickly diagnose breast cancer. Until now, many methods for diagnosing breast cancer have been developed, mainly based on imaging and molecular biotechnology examination. These methods have great contributions in screening and confirmation of breast cancer. In this review article, we introduce and elaborate the advances of these methods, and then conclude some gold standard diagnostic methods for certain breast cancer patients. We lastly discuss how to choose the most suitable diagnostic methods for breast cancer patients. In general, this article not only summarizes application and development of these diagnostic methods, but also provides the guidance for researchers who work on diagnosis of breast cancer.

Value of the New Elastography Technique using Acoustic Radiation Force Impulse in Differentiation between Hashimoto's Thyroiditis and Graves' Disease

Background and Aim:

This study was performed to evaluate the role and accuracy of shear wave elastography in the differentiation between Graves’ disease (GD) and Hashimoto’s thyroiditis (HT), in comparison with the B-mode ultrasound and color Doppler ultrasound.

Materials and Methods:

This study was non-randomized prospective study. The study included 30 patients with GD, 65 patients with HT, and 35 patients with normal thyroid glands. Assessment of ultrasonographic criteria, color Doppler flow pattern, and shear patterns differed significantly between the control group and the group of diffuse thyroid disease (P < 0.001). The most specific sign for diagnosing HT was nodularity (97.87%), and the most sensitive sign was coarse echotexture (81.54%). Color Doppler flow (CDF) showed sensitivity of 91.8%, specificity of 56.92%, positive predictive value of 52.54%, negative predictive value of 92.5%, and diagnostic accuracy of 68.69% in the differentiation between GD and HT. The mean shear wave velocity (SWV) was 2.61 ± 0.32 m/s in the GD group (range: 2.1–3.21 m/s), 2.85 ± 0.52 m/s in the HT group (range: 2.31–3.82 m/s), and 1.75 ± 0.37 m/s in the control group (range: 1.24–2.36 m/s). The mean SWVs in the GD and HT groups were significantly higher than that in the control group (P < 0.001). The mean SWV in the HT group was higher than that in the GD group (P = 0.03).

Conclusion:

Quantitative and qualitative SWE is useful for diagnosing diffuse thyroid disease and evaluating the degree of fibrosis in autoimmune thyroiditis. However, acoustic radiation force impulse techniques cannot differentiate between HT and GD reliably.

Comparative Diagnostic Accuracy of Contrast-Enhanced Ultrasound and Shear Wave Elastography in Differentiating Benign and Malignant Lesions: A Network Meta-Analysis

Background: We performed a network meta-analysis to compare the diagnostic accuracy of contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) and shear wave elastography (SWE) in differentiating benign and malignant lesions in different body sites.

Methods: A computerized literature search of Medline, Embase, SCOPUS, and Web of Science was performed using relevant keywords. Following data extraction, we calculated sensitivity, specificity, positive likelihood ratio (LR), negative LR, and diagnostic odds ratio (DOR) for CEUS, and SWE compared to histopathology as a reference standard. Statistical analyses were conducted by MetaDiSc (version 1.4) and R software (version 3.4.3).

Results: One hundred and fourteen studies (15,926 patients) were pooled in the final analyses. Network meta-analysis showed that CEUS had significantly higher DOR than SWE (DOR = 27.14, 95%CI [2.30, 51.97]) in breast cancer detection. However, there were no significant differences between CEUS and SWE in hepatic (DOR = −6.67, 95%CI [−15.08, 1.74]) and thyroid cancer detection (DOR = 3.79, 95%CI [−3.10, 10.68]). Interestingly, ranking analysis showed that CEUS achieved higher DOR in detecting breast and thyroid cancer, while SWE achieved higher DOR in detecting hepatic cancer. The overall DOR for CEUS in detecting renal cancer was 53.44, 95%CI [29.89, 95.56] with an AUROC of 0.95, while the overall DOR for SWE in detecting prostate cancer was 25.35, 95%CI [7.15, 89.89] with an AUROC of 0.89.

Conclusion: Both diagnostic tests showed relatively high sensitivity and specificity in detecting malignant tumors in different organs. Network meta-analysis showed that CEUS had higher diagnostic accuracy than SWE in detecting breast and thyroid cancer, while SWE had higher accuracy in detecting hepatic cancer. However, the results were not statistically significant in hepatic and thyroid malignancies. Further head-to-head comparisons are needed to confirm the optimal imaging technique to differentiate each cancer type.

Acoustic Radiation Force Impulse Elastography Findings of Achilles Tendons in Patients on Chronic Hemodialysis and in Renal Transplant Patients

OBJECTIVES

The Achilles tendon, which is composed of tendinous parts of gastrocnemius and soleus muscles, is the strongest and the largest tendon in the human body. Chronic renal disease can lead to reduced physical activity and exercise capacity. Spontaneous rupture of the Achilles tendon can occur in patients with chronic renal failure, with recurrent microtraumas, hypoxia, and chronic acidosis as predisposing factors. Here, we assessed and compared the elastographic findings in the Achilles tendon using acoustic radiation force impulse elastography in patients on chronic hemodialysis, in renal transplant patients, and in healthy volunteers.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Our study included 25 patients on chronic hemodialysis, 25 renal transplant patients, and 25 healthy individuals (control group). The thickness and shear wave velocity of the Achilles tendons were measured bilaterally by ultrasonography and acoustic radiation force impulse elastography.

RESULTS

The mean shear wave velocity was 3.67 m/s in the right and 3.64 m/s in the left Achilles tendon in the hemodialysis group. In the renal transplant group, the mean shear wave velocity was 4.29 and 4.25 m/s for the right and left Achilles tendon, respectively. In the control group, the mean shear wave velocity was 6.68 and 6.59 m/s, respectively for the right and left Achilles tendon. A statistically significant difference in shear wave velocities was shown among the groups (P < .05).

CONCLUSIONS

Achilles tendons in patients with chronic renal failure and on hemodialysis were softer than in renal transplant patients and softer than in the control group. Chronic tendinopathy causes softening of the tendon. In the renal transplant group, stiffness of the Achilles tendon was increased versus the hemodialysis group but still softer than the control group, which could be explained as a positive clinical effect of renal transplant. Acoustic radiation force impulse elastography is an objective, easy, and noninvasive method to assess Achilles tendinopathy.

Preoperative prediction of papillary thyroid microcarcinoma via multiparameter ultrasound

Background Accurate diagnosis of papillary thyroid microcarcinoma (PTMC) is important for further management. Ultrasound (US) is the most frequently used imaging modality for PTMC. Purpose To evaluate the diagnostic value of conventional US, contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) and real-time elastography (RTE) for patients with PTMC. Material and Methods In total, 135 patients with subcentimeter thyroid nodules who underwent conventional US, CEUS, and RTE before surgery were enrolled. A multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed to assess the independent predictors of PTMC. The diagnostic performances of conventional US, CEUS, and RTE were evaluated with a receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis. Results A taller-than-wide shape was identified as the strongest predictor of PTMC (odds ratio [OR], 25.21), followed by heterogeneous enhancement (OR, 24.03), marked hypoechogenicity (OR, 21.71), poorly defined margin (OR, 5.51), strain ratio (OR, 2.59), and age (OR, 0.92; all P values < 0.05). Heterogeneous enhancement on CEUS showed the highest positive predictive value (PPV; 88.0%) and an accuracy of 83.7%. A logistic regression model was created to predict PTMC using conventional US, CEUS, and RTE. The area under the ROC curve was 0.97, with a sensitivity of 88.6% and a specificity of 94.6%. Conclusion Conventional US combined with CEUS and RTE can improve the diagnostic accuracy of PTMC.

Role of Contrast-Enhanced Ultrasound in Diagnosis of Thyroid Nodules in Acoustic Radiation Force Impulse "Gray Zone"

The aim of this study was to evaluate the clinical value of contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) in the diagnosis of thyroid nodules in the acoustic radiation force impulse (ARFI) "gray zone" (the shear wave velocity is in the range 2.5-3 m/s). ARFI was performed before thyroidectomy in 70 patients with 200 thyroid nodules, and then CEUS was performed in 40 thyroid nodules in the "gray zone." The accuracy of ARFI for the 200 thyroid nodules was 82% (164/200). The accuracy of ARFI for the 40 "gray zone" thyroid nodules was 70% (28/40), whereas the accuracy of CEUS for the "gray zone" thyroid nodules was 90% (36/40). There was a significant difference in accuracy (p < 0.05). CEUS has better accuracy for thyroid nodules in the ARFI "gray zone." CEUS supplemented ARFI in differential diagnosis of benign and malignant thyroid nodules.

Reproducibility of Acoustic Radiation Force Impulse Imaging in Thyroid and Salivary Glands with Experienced and Inexperienced Examiners

Acoustic radiation force impulse (ARFI) imaging enables the sonographic measurement of tissue stiffness. The aim of this study was to evaluate if experience in ARFI imaging influences the reproducibility of ARFI imaging of the head and neck. Three experienced sonographers and three inexperienced sonographers performed ARFI imaging of thyroid, submandibular and parotid glands in 10 healthy volunteers. The examination was repeated after 2 wk. Ten single ARFI measurements were done in every gland. Inter-rater and intra-rater reliability was analyzed using the intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC). Moderate agreement was observed between experienced and inexperienced examiners (ICC = 0.46). In salivary glands, agreement was fair between the groups (ICC = 0.33), whereas in separate evaluations, inter-rater reliability in the submandibular glands was moderate (ICC = 0.52), and that in the parotid glands, only poor (ICC = 0.09). For ARFI imaging of the thyroid gland, there was moderate agreement between the groups (ICC = 0.50). The intra-rater reliability for the salivary and thyroid glands together and separately was strong in both groups. ARFI imaging of the thyroid and salivary glands did exhibit good reproducibility. ARFI imaging of the thyroid gland reached the highest levels of inter- and intra-observer agreement in both groups. ARFI imaging in salivary glands is only reproducible with experienced examiners.

Retrieval of the equivalent acoustic constitutive parameters of an inhomogeneous fluid-like object by nonlinear full waveform inversion

This study addresses the problem of the acoustic characterization of an inhomogeneous object such as a soft-tissue organ containing a cyst or tumor whose size and/or composition evolve either negatively due to increased disease or positively due to increased response to treatment. The so-called 'corrupted' binary object, probed by a transient, acoustic plane wave, is a tube composed of a homogenous fluid-like (or assumed as such) mantle (medium 1: three acoustic constitutive parameters, one geometric parameter) surrounding a homogeneous fluid-like (or assumed as such) core (medium 2: three acoustic constitutive parameters, one geometric parameter), immersed in a spatially-infinite, homogeneous fluid (host medium 0: two acoustic parameters). The complete inversion of the diffracted acoustic field response of this object involves the retrieval of seven (six acoustic and one geometric) parameters, assuming we know beforehand the outer radius of the tube and acoustic parameters of the host. An alternative to this time-consuming, hazardous (due to the ill-posed nature of the) procedure, is to minimize the discrepancy, between the full waveform response of the binary object to a transient plane wave and the response of a homogeneous cylinder (medium characterized by three acoustic parameters, one geometric parameter) to the same transient plane wave, so as to retrieve the (three so-called equivalent) acoustic parameters of the homogeneous object. Thus, the first inverse problem is replaced by a second one (same assumptions concerning the outer radius of the objects, the host medium, the probe radiation and the sensing configuration as the first one) involving the retrieval of only three (instead of six) acoustic parameters. This procedure is potentially useful if the variation of at least one of the three equivalent parameters is sensitive to the variation of a key parameter of the inhomogeneous body (usually the characteristic dimension or the wavespeed of the core) and this variation can be expressed in a simple algebraic form (such as by a mixing formula). It is shown that this situation can arise if the average frequency of the acoustic probe radiation is sufficiently low. A sidelight of this investigation is the discovery that the equivalent constitutive parameters of the homogeneous cylinder are dispersive even when the component materials of the tube are not dispersive.

Quantitative Shear Wave Velocity Measurement on Acoustic Radiation Force Impulse Elastography for Differential Diagnosis between Benign and Malignant Thyroid Nodules: A Meta-analysis

The aim of this study was to evaluate the diagnostic performance of quantitative shear wave velocity (SWV) measurement on acoustic radiation force impulse (ARFI) elastography for differentiation between benign and malignant thyroid nodules using meta-analysis. The databases of PubMed and the Web of Science were searched. Studies published in English on assessment of the sensitivity and specificity of ARFI elastography for the differentiation of thyroid nodules were collected. The quantitative measurement of ARFI elastography was evaluated by SWV (m/s). Meta-Disc Version 1.4 software was used to describe and calculate the sensitivity, specificity, positive likelihood ratio, negative likelihood ratio, diagnostic odds ratio and summary receiver operating characteristic curves. We analyzed a total of 13 studies, which included 1,854 thyroid nodules (including 1,339 benign nodules and 515 malignant nodules) from 1,641 patients. The summary sensitivity and specificity for differential diagnosis between benign and malignant thyroid nodules by SWV were 0.81 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.77-0.84) and 0.84 (95% CI: 0.81-0.86), respectively. The pooled positive and negative likelihood ratios were 5.21 (95% CI: 3.56-7.62) and 0.23 (95% CI: 0.17-0.32), respectively. The pooled diagnostic odds ratio was 27.53 (95% CI: 14.58-52.01), and the area under the summary receiver operating characteristic curve was 0.91 (Q* = 0.84). In conclusion, SWV measurement on ARFI elastography has high sensitivity and specificity for differential diagnosis between benign and malignant thyroid nodules and can be used in combination with conventional ultrasound.

Acoustic radiation force impulse imaging (ARFI) for differentiation of benign and malignant thyroid nodules--A meta-analysis

OBJECTIVES

Work-up of thyroid nodules remains challenging. Acoustic radiation force impulse imaging (ARFI)-generated shear wave elastography, which can measure quantitatively tissue stiffness (virtual touch tissue quantification) is used as a complement to conventional sonography for improving the diagnosis of thyroid nodules. This meta-analysis was performed to expand on a previous meta-analysis to assess the diagnostic power of ARFI in differentiating benign and malignant thyroid nodules.

METHODS

The MEDLINE, PubMed, SpringerLink databases up to December 31, 2014, were searched. The pooled sensitivity, specificity, and summary receiver operating characteristic curve were obtained from individual studies with a random effects model.

RESULTS

Sixteen studies that included a total of 2436 nodules in 2147 patients for ARFI studies were analyzed. The overall mean sensitivity and specificity of ARFI for differentiation of thyroid nodules were 0.80 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.73-0.87) and 0.85 (95% CI, 0.80-0.90), respectively. A significant heterogeneity was found for both sensitivity and specificity of the different studies (P<0.001). The area under the curve for the ARFI was 0.91.

CONCLUSIONS

ARFI has high sensitivity and specificity for identification of thyroid. This technique might be useful to select patients with thyroid nodules for surgery.

Diagnosis of thyroid nodules using virtual touch tissue quantification value and anteroposterior/transverse diameter ratio

This paper proposes an effective approach to differential diagnosis of thyroid nodules using a hierarchical classification model based on the Virtual Touch tissue quantification (VTQ) value and anteroposterior/transverse diameter (A/T) ratio. One hundred twenty nodules (92 benign, 28 malignant) were analyzed using this approach by combining the quantitative elastic characteristic with the conventional sonographic feature. First, nodules were classified as benign (VTQ values <2.27 m/s), malignant (VTQ values >2.73 m/s) and indeterminate (2.27 m/s ≤ VTQ values ≤2.73 m/s) using two cutoff points selected on the basis of receiver operating characteristic analysis. Second, the indeterminate nodules were separated into malignant and benign nodules using an A/T ratio ≥1. The advantage of this approach was that it could alleviate the limitation of an overlap in VTQ values between benign and malignant nodules. According to the pathologic results, the accuracy of this approach was 95%. The proposed approach may potentially improve diagnostic accuracy.