İbrahim KILINÇ, Oya TOPALOĞLU, Bekir ÇAKIR, Mustafa Ömer YAZICIOĞLU, Hayriye TATLI DOĞAN, Sevgül FAKI, Hüsniye BAŞER, Reyhan ERSOY, Afra ALKAN

Evaluation of malignancy with thyroid imaging reporting and data system (TI-RADS) in thyroid nodules with persistent nondiagnostic cytology

Background/aim: We aimed to evaluate the utility of thyroid imaging reporting and data system (TI-RADS) in prediction of malignancyin thyroid nodules with persistent nondiagnostic (ND) cytology.Materials and methods: A total of 246 thyroid nodules which were surgically removed and had at least two fine-needle aspirations(FNAs) with ND cytology were included in this study. Ultrasonography features and TI-RADS scores were recorded.Results: Of 246 nodules, 218 (88.6%) had benign and 28 (11.4%) had malignant final histopathology. Frequencies of taller than wideshape, solidity, hypoechogenicity, microcalcifications, and presence of irregular borders were similar between benign and malignantnodules (P > 0.05). The number of nodules categorized as TI-RADS 3, 4a, 4b, and 4c were 12 (4.9%), 53 (21.5%), 104 (42.3%), and 77(31.3%), respectively. There was not any nodule in TI-RADS 5 category. Malignancy rates of categories 3, 4a, 4b, and 4c were 0%, 13.2%,9.6%, 14.3%, respectively. No significant differences were detected in TI-RADS categories between benign and malignant nodules (P> 0.05).Conclusion: In this study, we did not demonstrate any suspicious ultrasound (US) finding predictive for malignancy in thyroid noduleswith persistent ND cytology and did not determine any difference between malignant and benign nodules regarding TI-RADS scores.Whereas, we found that thyroid nodules in 4a, 4b, and 4c TI-RADS categories had higher malignancy rates than those previouslyreported in ND cytology. We think that TI-RADS categories in thyroid nodules with persistent ND cytology can be helpful in treatmentdecision.

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