To develop a practical thyroid imaging reporting and data system (TIRADS) with which to categorize thyroid nodules and stratify their malignant risk. The institutional review board approved this retrospective study, and the requirement to obtain informed consent for the review of images and records was waived. From May to December 2008, ultrasonographically (US)-guided fine-needle aspiration biopsy (FNAB) was performed in 3674 focal thyroid nodules in 3414 consecutive patients. The study included the 1658 thyroid nodules (≥1 cm in maximum diameter at US) in 1638 patients (1373 women, 265 men) for which pathologic diagnosis or follow-up findings were available. Univariate and multivariate analyses with generalized estimating equations were performed to investigate the relationship between suspicious US features and thyroid cancer. A score for each significant factor was assigned and multiplied by the β coefficient obtained for each significant factor from multivariate logistic regression analysis. Scores for each significant factor were then added, resulting in an equation that fitted the probability of malignancy in thyroid nodules. The authors evaluated the fitted probability by using a regression equation; the risk of malignancy was determined according to the number of suspicious US features. The following US features showed a significant association with malignancy: solid component, hypoechogenicity, marked hypoechogenicity, microlobulated or irregular margins, microcalcifications, and taller-than-wide shape. As the number of suspicious US features increased, the fitted probability and risk of malignancy also increased. Positive predictive values according to the number of suspicious US features were significantly different (P < .001). Risk stratification of thyroid malignancy by using the number of suspicious US features allows for a practical and convenient TIRADS.

Shin JH, et al. Korean J Radiol. 2016 May-Jun;17(3):370-395. https://doi.org/10.3348/kjr.2016.17.3.370

Moon WJ, et al. Korean J Radiol. 2011 Jan-Feb;12(1):1-14. http://dx.doi.org/10.3348/kjr.2011.12.1.1

OBJECTIVE. The purpose of this study was to compare the diagnostic accuracy of ultrasound imaging with that of CT in the preoperative evaluation of primary tumors and cervical lymph nodes in patients with papillary thyroid carcinoma and to determine whether CT has greater diagnostic value than ultrasound alone in the care of these patients.MATERIALS AND METHODS. The study population consisted of 299 consecutively registered patients with pathologically proven papillary thyroid carcinoma. The diagnostic accuracies of ultrasound, CT, and the combination of ultrasound and CT in the evaluation of primary tumors and lymph node metastasis were compared. We performed subgroup analysis to compare the findings on papillary thyroid microcarcinoma (10 mm in maximum diameter or smaller) with the findings on papillary thyroid carcinoma larger than 1 cm in maximum diameter.RESULTS. Ultrasound was more accurate than CT in prediction of the presence of extrathyroidal tumor extension and of malignant disease in both thyro...

To retrospectively evaluate the diagnostic performance of power Doppler ultrasonography (US) in depicting vascularity and to determine whether the combination of vascularity and suspicious gray-scale US features is more useful in predicting thyroid malignancy than are gray-scale features alone. This was an institutional review board-approved retrospective study, with waiver of informed consent. A total of 1083 thyroid nodules in 1024 patients (median age, 51 years; range, 16-83 years), consisting of 886 women (median age, 50 years; range, 16-83 years) and 138 men (median age, 53 years; range, 19-74 years), were included. Nodules with marked hypoechogenicity, noncircumscribed margins, microcalcifications, and taller-than-wide shape were classified as suspicious according to gray-scale US criteria. Vascularity was classified as none, peripheral, and intranodular. The diagnostic performance of gray-scale and power Doppler US features was compared and classified as follows: criterion 1, any single suspicious gray-scale US feature; criterion 2, addition of any vascularity as one of the suspicious features to criterion 1; criterion 3, addition of peripheral vascularity to criterion 1; criterion 4, addition of intranodular vascularity to criterion 1; criterion 5, addition of no vascularity to criterion 1; criterion 6, American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists and Associazione Medici Endocrinology guidelines--all hypoechoic nodules with at least one of the following US features: irregular margins, intranodular vascular spots, taller-than-wide shape, or microcalcifications. Of 1083 nodules, 814 were benign and 269 were malignant. Intranodular vascularity was frequently seen in benign nodules and no vascularity was more frequent in malignant nodules (P < .0001, respectively). The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (A(z)) of criterion 1 was superior (A(z) = 0.851) to that of criteria 2 (A(z) = 0.634), 3 (A(z) = 0.752), 4 (A(z) = 0.733), 5 (A(z) = 0.718), and 6 (A(z) = 0.806) (P < .0001). Vascularity itself or a combination of vascularity and gray-scale US features was not as useful as the use of suspicious gray-scale US features alone for predicting thyroid malignancy.

To compare malignancy risk stratification of thyroid nodules with the 2014 American Thyroid Association (ATA) management guidelines and the Thyroid Imaging Reporting and Data System (TIRADS). This retrospective study was approved by the institutional review board. The requirement to obtain informed consent was waived. From November 2013 to July 2014, 1293 thyroid nodules in 1241 patients (mean age, 50.8 years ± 13.5) were included in this study. All nodules measured at least 10 mm. Solidity, hypoechogenicity or marked hypoechogenicity, microlobulated to irregular margin, microcalcifications or mixed calcifications, and nonparallel shape were considered suspicious features at ultrasonography (US). A TIRADS category and the US pattern as determined with ATA guidelines were assigned to each nodule. The correlation between the TIRADS category or ATA pattern and the malignancy rate was evaluated with the Spearman rank test. Of the 1293 thyroid nodules, 1059 (81.9%) were benign and 234 (18.1%) were malignant. Forty-four of the 1293 nodules (3.4%) did not meet the criteria for the ATA patterns and were classified as "not specified." The malignancy rates of TIRADS category 3, 4a, 4b, 4c, and 5 nodules were 1.9% (six of 316 nodules), 4.2% (17 of 408 nodules), 12.9% (33 of 256 nodules), 49.8% (130 of 261 nodules), and 92.3% (48 of 52 nodules), respectively, with significant differences between categories (P < .001). Malignancy rates of nodules with very low, low, intermediate, and high suspicion for malignancy with the ATA guidelines and not specified patterns were 2.7% (11 of 407 nodules), 3.1% (10 of 323 nodules), 16.7% (39 of 233 nodules), 58.0% (166 of 286 nodules), and 18.2% (eight of 44 nodules), respectively, with significant differences between patterns (P < .001). There was high correlation between classification with TIRADS (r = 1.000, P < .001) and ATA guidelines (r = 0.900, P = 0.037), without statistically significant differences (P = .873). Both TIRADS and the ATA guidelines provide effective malignancy risk stratification for thyroid nodules. Nodules that do not meet the criteria for a specific pattern with the ATA guidelines have a relatively high risk of malignancy (18.2%).