The efficacy and assessment value of the level of thyroglobulin wash-out after fine-needle aspiration cytodiagnosis in the evaluation of lymph node metastasis in papillary thyroid carcinoma.

OBJECTIVE

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy and clinical value of US, FNAC,FNA-Tg and FNAC + FNA-Tg, as well as the cutoff values of FNA-Tg to evaluate LN metastasis.

METHODS

We analyzed the diagnostic value of different US signs, the efficiency of US, FNAC, FNA-Tg and FNAC + FNA-Tg among the LN- and LN + groups, and the cutoff value of FNA-Tg to evaluate LN metastasis. We punctured LNs multiple times and measured the levels of FNA-Tg. Furthermore, the LNs were marked with immunohistochemical Tg and LCA to distinguish the presence of Tg in the para-cancerous tissue of the LNs.

RESULTS

The s-Tg and FNA-Tg of the LN + group were higher than those of the LN- group (P = 0.018, ≤ 0.001). The LN + group had more abnormal US signs than the LN- group. The cutoff value of FNA-Tg was 3.2 ng/mL. US had a high sensitivity (92.42), but the specificity was not satisfactory (55.1). FNA-Tg had a higher sensitivity (92.42 vs. 89.39), specificity (100 vs. 93.88), and accuracy (92.42 vs. 83.27) than FNAC. However, the sensitivity of FNAC + FNA-Tg increased further, while the specificity and accuracy decreased slightly. The presence of Tg in the normal lymphocytes adjacent to the cancer was confirmed.

CONCLUSION

Ultrasonography provides a noninvasive, dynamic, multidimensional assessment of LNs. With a cutoff value of 3.2 ng/mL, FNA-Tg has higher accuracy and a lower false-negative rate than various single diagnoses. However, FNAC combined with FNA-Tg does not cause additional pain to patients and offers a higher diagnostic efficacy and clinical value.