BACKGROUND: Fine-needle aspiration (FNA) cytology is accurate and cost-effective in the evaluation of thyroid nodules. Molecular techniques may contribute to risk stratification in indeterminate cases. Although next-generation sequencing (NGS) is a promising technique for the molecular testing of thyroid FNA specimens, thyroid-specific cancer gene panels are not commercially available. Conversely, the Ion AmpliSeq Cancer Hotspot Panel v2 (CHPv2), which includes the genes most frequently mutated in thyroid neoplasms, is commercially available and may represent an alternative to thyroid-specific panels. To the authors' knowledge to date, CHPv2 has performed well only on "ideal" cytological samples featuring abundant, high-quality DNA and satisfactory postsequencing metrics. The objective of the current study was to extend NGS to less-than-ideal samples, which represent a large percentage of routine clinical specimens. METHODS: A total of 37 thyroid smears were retrospectively analyzed using CHPv2, regardless of any preanalytical and postsequencing metric thresholds. Specifically, the authors evaluated the performance of CHPv2 on the BRAF, NRAS, HRAS, KRAS, and RET genes. Results were verified by pyrosequencing. RESULTS: Of the 37 thyroid FNA specimens, 34 (91.8%) were successfully processed. BRAF, NRAS, and RET somatic variants were detected in 22 of these 34 specimens (64.7%). NGS was found to have a high sensitivity (89.4%), specificity (85.7%), and accuracy (88.4%). CONCLUSIONS: CHPv2 is a valid option for the molecular evaluation of thyroid FNA specimens by NGS. It is interesting to note that this approach is accurate and effective even when applied to routine cytology samples that usually do not have optimal preanalytical and postsequencing requirements. Cancer Cytopathol 2016;124:776-84.
BACKGROUND: Fine-needle aspiration (FNA) cytology is accurate and cost-effective in the evaluation of thyroid nodules. Molecular techniques may contribute to risk stratification in indeterminate cases. Although next-generation sequencing (NGS) is a promising technique for the molecular testing of thyroid FNA specimens, thyroid-specific cancer gene panels are not commercially available. Conversely, the Ion AmpliSeq Cancer Hotspot Panel v2 (CHPv2), which includes the genes most frequently mutated in thyroid neoplasms, is commercially available and may represent an alternative to thyroid-specific panels. To the authors' knowledge to date, CHPv2 has performed well only on "ideal" cytological samples featuring abundant, high-quality DNA and satisfactory postsequencing metrics. The objective of the current study was to extend NGS to less-than-ideal samples, which represent a large percentage of routine clinical specimens. METHODS: A total of 37 thyroid smears were retrospectively analyzed using CHPv2, regardless of any preanalytical and postsequencing metric thresholds. Specifically, the authors evaluated the performance of CHPv2 on the BRAF, NRAS, HRAS, KRAS, and RET genes. Results were verified by pyrosequencing. RESULTS: Of the 37 thyroid FNA specimens, 34 (91.8%) were successfully processed. BRAF, NRAS, and RET somatic variants were detected in 22 of these 34 specimens (64.7%). NGS was found to have a high sensitivity (89.4%), specificity (85.7%), and accuracy (88.4%). CONCLUSIONS: CHPv2 is a valid option for the molecular evaluation of thyroid FNA specimens by NGS. It is interesting to note that this approach is accurate and effective even when applied to routine cytology samples that usually do not have optimal preanalytical and postsequencing requirements. Cancer Cytopathol 2016;124:776-84.
Authors: Francesco Pepe; Pasquale Pisapia; Maria Laura Del Basso de Caro; Floriana Conticelli; Umberto Malapelle; Giancarlo Troncone; Juan Carlos Martinez Journal: Histol Histopathol Date: 2019-12-24 Impact factor: 2.303
Authors: Joseph R Habib; Yayun Zhu; Lingdi Yin; Ammar A Javed; Ding Ding; Jonathan Tenior; Michael Wright; Syed Z Ali; Richard A Burkhart; William Burns; Christopher L Wolfgang; Eunji Shin; Jun Yu; Jin He Journal: J Gastrointest Surg Date: 2021-07-09 Impact factor: 3.452