C Franco Uliaque1, F J Pardo Berdún2, R Laborda Herrero3, C Pérez Lórenz2. 1. Servicio de Radiodiagnóstico, Centro Médico de Especialidades Ramón y Cajal, Hospital Universitario Miguel Servet, Zaragoza, España. Electronic address: caroluliaque@hotmail.com. 2. Servicio de Radiodiagnóstico, Centro Médico de Especialidades Ramón y Cajal, Hospital Universitario Miguel Servet, Zaragoza, España. 3. Centro Universitario de la Defensa, Zaragoza, España.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To retrospectively review the diagnostic capacity of semiquantitative elastography in differentiating between benign and malignant thyroid nodules. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We analyzed 314 thyroid nodules in 295 consecutive patients referred to the endocrinology department for cytological study, studying all by conventional ultrasonography, elastography, and fine-needle aspiration cytology (FNAC). Using a semiquantitative elastography system that portrays tissue stiffness through a color map, we designed our own classification system for thyroid nodules based on their characteristics on elastography. We classified nodules into three groups: predominantly soft, predominantly stiff, and mosaic patterned. We used logistic regression analysis to investigate the relation between elastography and thyroid cancer. RESULTS: We obtained a definite diagnosis of malignancy after surgery in 19 nodules, of which on elastography 8 had the mosaic pattern, 6 were predominantly stiff, and 5 were predominantly soft. We found no significant association between the pattern on elastography and the probability of malignancy in any of the models. CONCLUSION: According to our study, la probability of malignancy in a thyroid nodule is not related to the findings at elastography. Therefore, semiquantitative elastography as used in this study cannot obviate FNAC.
OBJECTIVE: To retrospectively review the diagnostic capacity of semiquantitative elastography in differentiating between benign and malignant thyroid nodules. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We analyzed 314 thyroid nodules in 295 consecutive patients referred to the endocrinology department for cytological study, studying all by conventional ultrasonography, elastography, and fine-needle aspiration cytology (FNAC). Using a semiquantitative elastography system that portrays tissue stiffness through a color map, we designed our own classification system for thyroid nodules based on their characteristics on elastography. We classified nodules into three groups: predominantly soft, predominantly stiff, and mosaic patterned. We used logistic regression analysis to investigate the relation between elastography and thyroid cancer. RESULTS: We obtained a definite diagnosis of malignancy after surgery in 19 nodules, of which on elastography 8 had the mosaic pattern, 6 were predominantly stiff, and 5 were predominantly soft. We found no significant association between the pattern on elastography and the probability of malignancy in any of the models. CONCLUSION: According to our study, la probability of malignancy in a thyroid nodule is not related to the findings at elastography. Therefore, semiquantitative elastography as used in this study cannot obviate FNAC.