• Korean Journal of Head & Neck Oncology
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.112-121
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• 1994

During the 7 years period from March 1987 to Febrary 1994, 344 patients with thyroid nodules, were admitted and operated at Department of Surgery, Collage of Medicine, Hallym university. We obtained following results: 1) The thyroid nodules were prevalent in female with ratio 1:17.1, both benign and malignant nodules were prevalent in the forth decade(37.8%:25.8%). 2) The duration of illness within 6 months was most common: 47.1% and within 1 years was 66.6%. 3) The most prominent symptoms & sign were palpable mass in anterior neck(96.8%). 4) The right-sided thyroid nodules were most common. 5) Thyroid scaning and thyroid function test were found to be not much value in differentiating malignancy. 6) Accuracy of the fine needle aspiration cytology was 75.5%. 7) There were 251 cases(73.0%) of benign and 93 cases(27.0%) of malignant nodules: most frequent benign nodule was adenomatous goiter(67.7%) and the most frequent malignant nodule was papillary adenocarcinoma (86.0%). 8) The most commonly performed surgical procedure was unilateral lobectomy with isthmectomy in both benign(41.0%) and malignant(33.3%). 9) Postoperative complications are as follows: transient hypothyroidism 22cases, transient hoaseness 16 cases, hypothyroidism 6 cases, wound infection 4 cases, hematoma 3 cases, permanent hoaseness 2 cases.

• Korean Journal of Head & Neck Oncology
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.81-87
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• 1998

Fine needle aspiration cytology was used widely to select thyroid nodules for surgery. The result could be highly reliable for most malignancies and for benign nodules. The purpose of this study was to determine the value of frozen biopsy by directly comparing the results of preoperative fine needle aspiration cytology to frozen biopsy examination. In our university hospital, 103 patients with thyroid nodule were operated during the years 1996 through 1997. A comparison of accuracy of the fine needle aspiration cytology with frozen biopsy was made for 85 patients who underwent both procedures. The 85 patients were separated into two groups. The group I included 65 patients, whose preoperative fine needle aspiration cytology results were reported as benign or malignant lesion definitely. The group II included 85 patients, the patients whose reported fine needle aspiration cytologic result was suspicious for malignancy were regarded .as malignant lesion and results for follicular neoplasm were regarded as benign lesion. The accuracy of both procedures was compared on two group also. The sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of frozen biopsy were 76.7%, 93.5%, and 85.2% in group I and 75.6%, 95.5%, and 85.9% in group II, respectively, compared with 63.3%, 87.1%, and 75.4% in group I and 65.4%, 81.8%, and 72.9% in group II for fine needle aspiration cytology. On benign lesion, the accuracy was 95.5% in frozen biopsy and 68.2% in fine needle aspiration cytology, 75.6% in frozen biopsy and 53.7% in fine needle aspiration cytology on malignant lesion. We conclude that although fine needle aspiration cytology is the reliable diagnostic test in the evaluation of thyroid nodule, frozen biopsy should be performed intraoperatively, because fine needle aspiration cytology is insufficiently sensitive for reliable surgical planning.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.855-860
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• 2014

Background: The purpose of this study was to assess the relationship between different sonographic features of papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) on high-frequency ultrasound and cervical lymph node metastasis (CLNM). Materials and Methods: We enrolled 548 patients who underwent initial surgery for PTC between May 2011 and December 2012 in our hospital at diagnosis. The sonographic features of 513 PTC nodules in 513 eligible patients, who had single PTC nodules in their thyroid glands, were retrospectively investigated. All patients with a suspect malignant nodule (d<0.5cm) among multiple nodules were initially diagnosed by fine-needle aspiration biopsy (FNAB) to ascertain if the suspect nodule was PTC. The final diagnosis of all the thyroid nodules and existence of CLNM were based on postoperative pathology. Patients were divided into two groups: a positive group with CLNM (224 nodules) and a negative group without CLNM (289 nodules). The following factors were investigated: gender, age, echogenicity, echotexture, size, shape, location, margin, contour, calcification morphology, distance between the nodule and pre- or post-border of the thyroid capsule, vascularity and the differences between the two groups. Results: Correlation analysis showed that shorter distances between the nodule and pre- or postborder of thyroid capsule resulted in greater risk of CLNM (Spearman correlation coefficient=-0.22, p<0.0001). The significant factors in multivariate analysis were age<45yrs, larger size (d>1cm), "wider than tall" shape, extrathyroid extension and mixed flow (internal and peripheral) (p<0.05, OR=0.406, 2.093, 0.461, 1.610, 1.322). Conclusions: Significant sonographic features of PTC nodules in preoperative high-frequency ultrasound are crucial for predicting CLNM.

• Korean Journal of Head & Neck Oncology
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.189-193
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• 1999

Objectives: Fine needle aspiration cytology(FNAC) is a well established preoperative diagnostic procedure in the thyroid nodules. However, diagnostic accuracy of FNAC varies according to the size and the structural characteristics of thyroid nodule. We performed the ultrasound guided FNAC(US-guided FNAC) for impalpable thyroid nodule, and estimated the sampling accuracy rate through a comparison study between the cytologic diagnosis and the final histologic diagnosis of the postoperative specimens in order to determine clinical efficacy of the US-guided FNAC. Materials and Methods: We evaluated 117 patients underwent US-guided FNAC from January 1997 to December 1998. These patients had 129 thyroid nodules to need cytologic examination. Whereas the nodules were so no graphically classified into cystic, solid, and mixed type according to echo pattern, the aspirated thyroid specimens were classified into benign, malignant, suspicious, and insufficient. Results: Positive sampling for diagnositc examination was achieved in 75 nodules(58.1%), and US-guided FNAC in our study showed the accuracy rate of 95.2%, false positivity rate of 0%, and false negativity rate of 5.5%. Conclusions: US-guided FNAC is a powerful techniques for evaluating cytologic characterics and allowing a reliable diagnositc result in the impalpable thyroid nodule. However, the experienced technique is recommanded in order to obtain the sufficient samples for reliable results.

• The Korean Journal of Cytopathology
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.161-164
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• 2007

Metastasis to the thyroid gland is very rare in clinical practice. We recently encountered a 65-year-old woman who presented with a large thyroid nodule that mimicked the cytologic features of a papillary thyroid carcinoma on fine needle aspiration biopsy (FNAB). Although initially diagnosed as a papillary thyroid carcinoma, a thorough clinical work-up revealed multiple lesions in the bones, liver, and nasal cavity, which were confirmed as metastases of a malignant melanoma. Despite a thorough physical examination, however, the primary skin lesion could not be identified. Although FNAB shows a high degree of accuracy in diagnosing primary thyroid tumors, it is less accurate in diagnosing metastases to the thyroid gland. A thorough clinical history with appropriate immunohistochemical staining assays is necessary for the accurate diagnosis of metastatic malignant melanoma.

• Korean Journal of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery
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• v.61 no.11
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• pp.600-604
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• 2018

Background and Objectives This study aimed to identify a reliable preoperative predictive factor for the development of thyroid cancer in patients with atypia of undetermined significance (AUS) identified by fine needle aspiration biopsy (FNAB). Subjects and Method This was a retrospective cohort study. Two hundred and ninety-nine patients diagnosed with AUS by preoperative FNAB who underwent curative thyroid surgery at our institution between September 2005 and February 2014 were analyzed. Clinical, radiological and molecular features were investigated as preoperative predictors for postoperative permanent malignant pathology. Results The final pathologic results revealed 36 benign tumors including nodular hyperplasia, follicular adenoma, adenomatous goiter, nontoxic goiter, and lymphocytic thyroiditis, as well as 263 malignant tumors including 1 follicular carcinoma and 1 invasive follicular carcinoma; the rest were papillary thyroid carcinomas. The malignancy rate was 87.9%. The following were identified as risk factors for malignancy by univariate analysis: $BRAF^{V600E}$ gene mutation, specific ultrasonographic findings including smaller nodule size, low echogenicity of the nodule, and irregular or spiculated margin (p<0.05). Multivariate analysis revealed that only $BRAF^{V600E}$ mutation was a statistically significant risk factor for malignancy (p<0.05). When $BRAF^{V600E}$ mutation was positive, 98.5% of enrolled patients developed malignant tumors. In addition, the diagnostic rate of malignancy in these cases was approximately 16-fold higher than BRAF-negative cases. Conclusion Patients with AUS thyroid nodules should undergo $BRAF^{V600E}$ gene mutation analysis to improve diagnostic accuracy and if the mutation is confirmed, surgery is recommended due to the high risk of malignancy.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.23
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• pp.10307-10311
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• 2015

Background: The Bethesda System for Reporting Thyroid Cytopathology is one of the main classification systems for thyroid nodules. It expects that 7% of all fine needle aspiration biopsies will be reported as atypia or follicular lesions of undetermined significance, and 5-15% of these undetermined nodules are malignant. Our study is a retrospective analysis of variables that may be associated with outcome in patients with indeterminate thyroid nodules. Materials and Methods: Patients who underwent thyroidectomy in our institution between 2010 and 2014 were retrieved from the institutional records database. Patient demographics and medical histories were recorded. All ultrasonography reports were examined for nodule features and biochemical blood levels, hormone levels and complete blood counts were recorded. Results: A total of 103 patient cytopathology reports were regarded as belonging to the undetermined category. Some 35% of patients had malignant nodules. Median preoperative red cell distribution width (RDW) level was 13.6 inthe benign group, while it was 14.3 in patients with malignancy, demonstrating a significant correlation (p=0.003). Only calcification presence was significantly different between benign and malignant groups on ultrasonography (p=0.034). Conclusions: Ultrasonography is one of the primary tools for this matter. RDW levels may become another promising tool to predict malignancy.

• Korean Journal of Head & Neck Oncology
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.38-41
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• 2001

Background and Objectives: Thyroid nodules can be diagnosed by FNAB, neck sonography, CT scan, or frozen section with relative accuracy. But some cases, which show no malignancy with those methods, are proved differentiated carcinomas on permanent sections. These false negative results of those diagnostic methods pose difficulties in the surgeon's decision-making process. We analyzed completion thyroidectomies retrospectively in order to make a treatment guideline for thyroid nodules. Materials and Methods: During the last six years, we performed 243 thyroid lobectomies, no evidence of malignancy with preoperative or intraoperative diagnostic methods at the Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Ansan and Anam Korea University Hospital. Among these cases, 23 patients (male 6, female 17, mean age 33.4 year old) were proved differentiated thyroid carcinomas on permanent section and we performed completion thyroidectomies. Results: Preoperative FNAB showed seven cases of nodular hyperplasia, 11 cases of follicular adenoma, and five cases of inadequate specimen. Among total 15 cases on frozen section, five cases were nodular hyperplasias, and 10 cases were follicular adenomas. Pathologic results of the permanent section were six cases of papillary cell carcinoma and 17 cases of follicular cell carcinoma. Completion thyroidectomy was performed on all these cases. Conclusion: FNAB and frozen section cannot be sufficient to make the diagnosis of thyroid nodule, we consider that completion thyroidectomy should be performed at the moment with malignant evidence on permanent section.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• v.84 no.1
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• pp.92-109
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• 2023

In patients with thyroid nodules, ultrasonography (US) has been established as a primary diagnostic imaging method and is essential for treatment decision. The Korean Thyroid Imaging Reporting and Data System (K-TIRADS) is a pattern-based, US malignancy risk stratification system that can easily diagnose nodules during real-time ultrasound examinations. The 2021 K-TIRADS clarified the US criteria for nodule classification and revised the size thresholds for nodule biopsy, thereby reducing unnecessary biopsies for benign nodules while maintaining the appropriate sensitivity to detect malignant tumors in patients without feature of high risk thyroid cancer. Thyroid radiology practice has an important clinical role in the diagnosis and non-surgical treatment of patients with thyroid nodules, and should be performed according to standard practice guidelines for proper and effective clinical care.

• The Korean Journal of Cytopathology
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.111-121
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• 1996

Fine needle aspiration cytology(FNAC) is preferred because of simplicity, safety, and reliability in the evaluation of patients with thyroid nodule or hyperplasia. However, there are a few limitations such as false-negative or false-positive cases and non-diagnostic material. To evaluate the usefulness of FNAC in thyroid lesions, we reviewed 704 FNAC cases of thyroid nodules from 1988 to 1994 at Soonchunhyang University Hospital. The results are as follows. 1. Among 704 FNAC cases of thyroid gland, 571(81.1%) cases were benign, 12(1.7%) were suspicious, 71(10.1%) were malignancy, and 50(7.1%) were material insufficiency. The cytologic diagnoses of the benign lesions included 168 cases of follicular neoplasm, 139 cases of adenomatous goiter, 162 cases of follicular lesion such as follicular neoplasm or adenomatous goiter, 61 cases of Hashimoto's thyroiditis, 13 cases of subacute thyroiditis, and 28 cases of colloidal nodule or benign nodule. The malignant lesions included 68 cases of papillary carcinona, two medullary carcinomas and a case of metastatic colon cancer. 2. The average number of cytologic smear slides was $4.12{\pm}1.81$ in material insufficiency and $5.63{\pm}1.79$ in diagnostic cases. This difference was statistically significant(p<0.00001). 3. Histological assessment of 150 cases revealed 2 false negative and 1 false positive cases. The false negative cases were a case of marked sclerosis in papillary carcinoma and an occult case of papillary carcinoma. The false positive case resulted from pseudo-ground glass nuclei due to marked dry artifact. 4. Comparison between the FNAC and the histologic diagnosis revealed that FNAC had a sensitivity of 93.5%, a specificity of 99.2%, a false negative rate of 6.6%, a false positive rate of 0.8%, and an overall diagnostic accuracy of 98.0%. Therefore, FNAC of thyroid gland is a very reliable diagnostic method with excellent accuracy rate.