OBJECTIVE: To assess clinical factors that may improve the ability to predict the presence of a malignant lesion in thyroid nodules that are found to be "suspicious for follicular neoplasm" by fine-needle aspiration (FNA) cytology. MATERIAL AND METHODS: We undertook a retrospective review of the medical records of all patients at the three Mayo Clinic facilities who underwent a thyroid surgical procedure between January 1992 and December 1994 and had a preoperative FNA report of "suspicious for follicular neoplasm." Patient and nodule characteristics were analyzed statistically for associations with the presence of cancer. RESULTS: The study cohort consisted of 219 patients with a mean age of 54.3 years. Eighty-four percent of resections were done for benign disease. Of the 35 malignant lesions, 9 were incidental papillary cancers separate from the primary nodule; thus, only 26 cancers were found in the index nodule, and only 19 (9% of the total group) were follicular carcinomas. Clinical findings associated with a malignant index nodule were larger diameter, fixation of the mass, and younger age of the patient. CONCLUSION: Clinical characteristics may be used for more accurate assessment of the risk of the presence of a malignant lesion when FNA cytology of a thyroid nodule is reported as "suspicious for follicular neoplasm."
OBJECTIVE: To assess clinical factors that may improve the ability to predict the presence of a malignant lesion in thyroid nodules that are found to be "suspicious for follicular neoplasm" by fine-needle aspiration (FNA) cytology. MATERIAL AND METHODS: We undertook a retrospective review of the medical records of all patients at the three Mayo Clinic facilities who underwent a thyroid surgical procedure between January 1992 and December 1994 and had a preoperative FNA report of "suspicious for follicular neoplasm." Patient and nodule characteristics were analyzed statistically for associations with the presence of cancer. RESULTS: The study cohort consisted of 219 patients with a mean age of 54.3 years. Eighty-four percent of resections were done for benign disease. Of the 35 malignant lesions, 9 were incidental papillary cancers separate from the primary nodule; thus, only 26 cancers were found in the index nodule, and only 19 (9% of the total group) were follicular carcinomas. Clinical findings associated with a malignant index nodule were larger diameter, fixation of the mass, and younger age of the patient. CONCLUSION: Clinical characteristics may be used for more accurate assessment of the risk of the presence of a malignant lesion when FNA cytology of a thyroid nodule is reported as "suspicious for follicular neoplasm."
Authors: S Arena; A Latina; I Marturano; V Muscia; G L La Rosa; M Stornello; S Squatrito; S Italia; R Vigneri Journal: J Endocrinol Invest Date: 2013-05-06 Impact factor: 4.256