Combination of ultrasound guided fine needle aspiration biopsy and molecular analy-sis for the differential diagnosis of thyroid nodules / 中国肿瘤临床

ABSTRACT

Recently,the incidence of papillary thyroid carcinoma(PTC)has been increasing yearly.Ultrasonography is considered the first tool in the screening and diagnosis of thyroid nodules.Ultrasound-guided fine needle aspiration(US-FNA)biopsy is an effective, minimally invasive intervention for the differential diagnosis of thyroid nodules before operation.The diagnosis of US-FNA is classified by the Bethesda diagnostic system. Although fine needle aspiration cytology has high sensitivity and specificity, unclear diagnoses, such as atypical follicular lesions,are still existed.US-FNA combined with genetic mutation analysis(BRAF,RAS,and RET/PTC rearrange-ment)for such atypical lesions(BethesdaⅢ-Ⅴ),as well as microRNA analysis,can significantly improve the diagnostic accuracy of in-definite nodules.This process facilitates standardized clinical management of benign and malignant thyroid nodules.