Objective To investigate the influencing factors and establish a model predicting the performance of needle visualization in fine-needle aspiration (FNA) of thyroid nodules. Methods This study prospectively included 175 patients who underwent FNA of thyroid nodules in the Department of Ultrasound in China-Japan Friendship Hospital and compared the display of the needle tips in the examination of 199 thyroid nodules before and after the application of needle visualization.We recorded the location,the positional relationship with thyroid capsule,ultrasonic characteristics,and the distribution of the soft tissue strip structure at the puncture site of the nodules with unclear needle tips display before using needle visualization.Furthermore,according to the thyroid imaging reporting and data system proposed by the American College of Radiology,we graded the risk of the nodules.Lasso-Logistic regression was employed to screen out the factors influencing the performance of needle visualization and establish a nomogram for prediction. Results The needle tips were not clearly displayed in the examination of 135 (67.8%) and 53 (26.6%) nodules before and after the application of needle visualization,respectively,which showed a significant difference (P<0.001).Based on the positional relationship between the nodule and capsule,anteroposterior/transverse diameter (A/T) ratio,blood supply,and the distribution of subcutaneous strip structure at the puncture site,a nomogram was established to predict the probability of unclear display of the needle tips after application of needle visualization.The C-index of the prediction model was 0.75 (95%CI=0.67-0.84) and the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve was 0.72.The calibration curve confirmed the appreciable reliability of the prediction model,with the C-index of 0.70 in internal validation. Conclusions Needle visualization can improve the display of the needle tip in ultrasound-guided FNA of thyroid nodules.The nomogram established based on ultrasound features such as the positional relationship between the nodule and capsule,A/T ratio,blood supply,and the distribution of subcutaneous strip structure at the puncture site can predict whether needle visualization is suitable for the examination of nodules.
Humans ; Thyroid Nodule/diagnostic imaging* ; Biopsy, Fine-Needle/methods* ; Reproducibility of Results ; Ultrasonography ; Retrospective Studies ; Thyroid Neoplasms

Objective To investigate the influencing factors of Bethesda Ⅲ results in fine-needle aspiration biopsy of thyroid nodules.Methods A total of 300 thyroid nodules with cytological diagnosis results were analyzed retrospectively,including 100 Bethesda Ⅲ nodules and 50 nodules of Bethesda Ⅱ,Ⅳ,Ⅴ,and Ⅵ categories,respectively.Univariate analysis and Logistic regression analysis were performed on the clinical data of patients and the ultrasound signs of thyroid nodules to clarify the factors influencing the diagnosis of Bethesda Ⅲ nodules.Results Univariate analysis showed that Bethesda Ⅲ nodules were mostly adjacent to the capsule(P<0.001),with no blood flow in the color Doppler assessment(P=0.011)and lack of blood supply(P=0.033)and maximum diameter ≤0.9 cm(P=0.038)as revealed by the contrast-enhanced ultrasound.Logistic regression showed that the position close to the capsule(OR=5.110,95%CI=2.153-12.130,P<0.001)and color Doppler without blood flow signal(OR=3.015,95%CI=1.094-8.311,P=0.033)were independent risk factors for the diagnosis of Bethesda Ⅲ nodules.Conclusions The puncture difficulty caused by the dangerous position of thyroid nodules close to the capsule and the aspiration difficulty caused by the absence of blood flow signal in color Doppler are the main factors influencing the diagnosis of Bethesda Ⅲ nodules.Therefore,corresponding avoidance measures should be taken during the aspiration process to reduce the diagnosis results of Bethesda Ⅲ nodules.
Humans ; Thyroid Nodule/diagnostic imaging* ; Thyroid Neoplasms/diagnosis* ; Biopsy, Fine-Needle/methods* ; Retrospective Studies ; Ultrasonography/methods*

fine-needle aspiration (FNA) and core-needle biopsy (CNB) for thyroid nodules according to nodule size.MATERIALS AND METHODS: This retrospective study included 320 thyroid nodules from 320 patients who underwent both FNA and CNB at outside clinics and proceeded with surgery in our institution between July 2012 and May 2019. According to nodule size, the diagnostic performances of FNA and CNB were calculated using various combinations of test-negatives and test-positives defined by the Bethesda categories and were compared using the generalized estimated equation and the Delong method.RESULTS: There were 279 malignant nodules in 279 patients and 41 benign nodules in 41 patients. The diagnostic performance of FNA was mostly not different from CNB regardless of nodule size, except for negative predictive value, which was better for FNA than CNB when applying Criteria 1 and 2. When applying Criteria 3, the specificity and positive predictive value of FNA were superior to CNB regardless of size. When applying Criteria 4, diagnostic performance did not differ between FNA and CNB regardless of size. After applying Criteria 5, diagnostic performance did not differ between FNA and CNB in nodules ≥2 cm. However, in nodules ≥1 cm and all nodules, the sensitivity, accuracy, and negative predictive value of CNB were better than those of FNA.CONCLUSION: CNB did not show superior diagnostic performance to FNA for diagnosing thyroid nodules.]]>
Biopsy ; Biopsy, Fine-Needle ; Biopsy, Large-Core Needle ; Humans ; Methods ; Retrospective Studies ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Thyroid Gland ; Thyroid Neoplasms ; Thyroid Nodule ; Ultrasonography

PURPOSE: Fine-needle aspiration biopsy (FNAB) can be used to diagnose thyroid cancer and other tumors. Although FNAB without negative pressure (FNAB−P) reduces the risk of blood contamination, FNAB with negative pressure (FNAB+P) increases the sensitivity of the biopsy results. Therefore, we performed a randomized study of FNAB with or without negative pressure to identify the better diagnostic method. METHODS: Between March 2016 and February 2017, 172 consecutive patients were enrolled to investigate >0.5 cm nodules with indeterminate or suspicious malignant features. Patients were randomly assigned to the FNAB+P group (a 50 mL syringe was used to provide negative pressure) or to the FNAB−P group (passive collection of blood in the needle's hub). The 2 methods' diagnostic adequacy and quality were evaluated using an objective scoring system. The study's protocol was registered with the World Health Organization Clinical Research Information Service (http://cris.nih.go.kr/cris, KCT0001857). RESULTS: The patients were randomly assigned to the FNAB+P group (n = 86) or the FNAB−P group (n = 86). There were no significant intergroup differences in nodule position, size, age, consistency, calcification, BRAF mutation, or pathology. Evaluation of diagnostic adequacy parameters revealed no significant differences in background blood/clot (P = 0.728), amount of cellular material (P = 0.052), degree of cellular degeneration (P = 0.622), degree of cellular trauma (P = 0.979), or retention of appropriate architecture (P = 0.487). Furthermore, there was no significant intergroup difference in the diagnostic quality (P = 0.634). CONCLUSION: This prospective randomized study failed to detect significant differences in the diagnostic adequacy and quality of FNAB with or without negative pressure. Therefore, the examiner may select whichever FNAB method they prefer.
Biopsy ; Biopsy, Fine-Needle ; Cytological Techniques ; Humans ; Information Services ; Methods ; Pathology ; Prospective Studies ; Syringes ; Thyroid Gland ; Thyroid Neoplasms ; Thyroid Nodule ; World Health Organization

Endoscopic ultrasound-guided tissue acquisition (EUS-TA) is a well-established method for pathological diagnosis of solid pancreatic neoplasm. It can be performed either as EUS-guided fine-needle aspiration (EUS-FNA) or EUS-guided fine-needle biopsy (EUS-FNB). The incidence of adverse events related to EUS-TA is less than 1%. The factors that affect the diagnostic accuracy and specimen adequacy include the techniques used, type and size of the needle, competency of endosonographers, presence of cytopathologists/cytotechnologists, and rapid on-site examination. EUS-TA may contribute to precision medicine through obtaining tissue samples for next-generation sequencing. The current status, several clinical issues for diagnostic yield and adverse events, and future perspectives of EUS-FNA/FNB for diagnosing pancreatic neoplasm have been discussed in this review article.
Biopsy, Fine-Needle ; Diagnosis ; Incidence ; Methods ; Needles ; Pancreatic Neoplasms ; Precision Medicine

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) has a limited ability to determine the nature of solid pancreatic lesions (SPLs). Most recent ultrasound processors are provided with elastography software, which allows quantification of the tissue hardness. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of the elasticity score (ES) and strain ratio (SR) in the differentiation of benign pancreatic lesions from malignant pancreatic lesions. METHODS: The study had a retrospective design; it included 97 patients with SPLs and 19 patients with inflammatory lesions. The ES and SR were determined during the examination; finally, EUS-guided fine needle aspiration was performed. RESULTS: In this 2-year study, 116 patients were enrolled (97 with malignant lesions and 19 with benign lesions). There were 69 men and 47 women. Their median age was 55.9 years. A cut-off point was detected at SR of 7.75 with a specificity of 99.9%, sensitivity of 90.7%, positive predictive value (PPV) of 99.9%, negative predictive value (NPV) of 67.9%, and accuracy of 92.2%. After adding the ES to the SR, the cut-off point at 7.75 resulted in a specificity of 94.6%, sensitivity of 99%, PPV of 98%, NPV of 98.5%, and accuracy of 97%. CONCLUSIONS: The use of the ES combined with the SR increases the accuracy of differentiation between benign and malignant SPLs and is an effective method for the evaluation of pancreatic masses.
Biopsy, Fine-Needle ; Elasticity ; Elasticity Imaging Techniques ; Female ; Hardness ; Humans ; Male ; Methods ; Pancreas ; Retrospective Studies ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Ultrasonography

OBJECTIVE: Core needle biopsy (CNB) of the thyroid is an additional diagnostic method for non-diagnostic or indeterminate cytology samples. We sought to evaluate a new modified core biopsy technique and compare the concordance of its diagnosis with the final diagnosis of the surgically resected specimen. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A retrospective analysis was conducted on 842 patients who had a thyroid CNB with or without a previous fine-needle aspiration from August 2002 to March 2015; 38% of patients ultimately underwent thyroidectomy. We divided the patients into two groups for comparison: conventional group (n = 329) and new modified technique group (n = 513) that enabled sampling of not only the lesion but also the margin and surrounding parenchyma. The diagnostic conclusiveness of CNB and concordant rate with thyroidectomy was compared between the two groups. RESULTS: The overall diagnostic conclusiveness did not exhibit a significant increase (77% in the conventional technique group and 75% in the modified technique group, p = 0.408). In terms of the diagnostic concordance rate between CNB and thyroidectomy, no overall significant increase was observed (83% in the conventional technique group and 88% in the modified technique group, p = 0.194). However, only in follicular-patterned lesions (nodular hyperplasia, follicular neoplasm, and follicular variant of papillary thyroid carcinoma), a significant increase in the diagnostic concordance rate was observed (83% in the conventional group and 94% in the modified technique group, p = 0.033). CONCLUSION: Modified CNB technique can be beneficial for the accurate diagnosis of follicular-patterned thyroid lesions.
Biopsy* ; Biopsy, Fine-Needle ; Biopsy, Large-Core Needle ; Diagnosis* ; Humans ; Hyperplasia ; Methods ; Retrospective Studies ; Thyroid Gland* ; Thyroid Nodule* ; Thyroidectomy

The Korean Society of Radiology and the National Evidence-based Healthcare Collaborating Agency developed guidelines for primary imaging tests and appropriate biopsy methods for thyroid nodules. These guidelines were developed using an adaptation process by collaboration between the development committee and the working group. The development committee, composed of research methodology experts, established the overall plan and provided support about methodological strategies. The working group, composed of radiologist experts in thyroid imaging, wrote the proposals. The guidelines recommend neck ultrasound (US) as a first-line imaging modality for the diagnosis of thyroid nodules in patients with suspected nodules, and US-guided fine-needle aspiration as a primary method for histologic examination of thyroid nodules.
Biopsy* ; Biopsy, Fine-Needle ; Cooperative Behavior ; Diagnosis ; Evidence-Based Practice* ; Humans ; Methods* ; Neck ; Research Design ; Thyroid Gland* ; Thyroid Nodule* ; Ultrasonography

BACKGROUND: The BRAF V600E mutation is the most common genetic alteration identified in papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC). Because of its costs effectiveness and sensitivity, direct Sanger sequencing has several limitations. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficiency of immunohistochemistry (IHC) as an alternative method to detect the BRAF V600E mutation in preoperative and postoperative tissue samples. METHODS: We evaluated 71 patients who underwent thyroid surgery with the result of direct sequencing of the BRAF V600E mutation. IHC staining of the BRAF V600E mutation was performed in 49 preoperative and 23 postoperative thyroid specimens. RESULTS: Sixty-two patients (87.3%) had PTC, and of these, BRAF V600E was confirmed by direct sequencing in 57 patients (91.9%). In 23 postoperative tissue samples, the BRAF V600E mutation was detected in 16 samples (70%) by direct sequencing and 18 samples (78%) by IHC. In 24 fine needle aspiration (FNA) samples, BRAF V600E was detected in 18 samples (75%) by direct sequencing and 16 samples (67%) by IHC. In 25 core needle biopsy (CNB) samples, the BRAF V600E mutation was detected in 15 samples (60%) by direct sequencing and 16 samples (64%) by IHC. The sensitivity and specificity of IHC for detecting the BRAF V600E mutation were 77.8% and 66.7% in FNA samples and 99.3% and 80.0% in CNB samples. CONCLUSION: IHC could be an alternative method to direct Sanger sequencing for BRAF V600E mutation detection both in postoperative and preoperative samples. However, application of IHC to detect the BRAF V600E mutation in FNA samples is of limited value compared with direct sequencing.
Biopsy, Fine-Needle ; Biopsy, Large-Core Needle ; Humans ; Immunohistochemistry* ; Methods ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Thyroid Gland* ; Thyroid Neoplasms*

The histologic analysis of gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs) is a common method to detect the mitotic activity and to subsequently determine the risk of GISTs for malignancy. The potential false negative error due to inadequate yield of specimens and actual determination of malignancy risk requires analysis of the whole tumor. We aimed to assess the role of contrast enhanced endoscopic ultrasound (CE-EUS) in the management of GISTs. Two authors individually did review of English literatures to identify nine peer-reviewed original articles using keywords- contrast endoscopic ultrasound, GIST and submucosal tumor. Studies were heterogeneous in their aims looking either at differentiating submucosal lesions from GISTs, estimating malignant potential of GISTs with histologic correlation or studying the role of angiogenesis in malignant risk stratification. CE-EUS had moderate to high efficacy in differentiating GISTs from alternative submucosal tumors. CE-EUS had a higher sensitivity than EUS-guided fine needle aspiration, contrast computed tomography and Doppler EUS for detection of neo-vascularity within the GISTs. However, the evidence of abnormal angiogenesis within GIST as a prognostic factor needs further validation. CE-EUS is a non-invasive modality, which can help differentiate GISTs and provide valuable assessment of their perfusion patterns to allow better prediction of their malignant potential but more experience is needed.
Biopsy, Fine-Needle ; Diagnosis* ; Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumors* ; Methods ; Perfusion ; Ultrasonography*