[Home ] [Archive]    
:: Main :: About :: Current Issue :: Archive :: Search :: Submit :: Contact ::
Main Menu
Home::
IJRR Information::
About the Journal
Editorial Board
Keywords
For Authors::
Aims and Scope
Call for Papers
Submission Instructions
For Reviewers::
Referee page
Subscription::
Subscription Form
News & Events::
Journal News
Web Mail::
::
Search in website

Advanced Search
..
Receive site information
Enter your Email in the following box to receive the site news and information.
..
ISSN
Hard Copy 2322-3243
Online 2345-4229
..
Online Submission
Now you can send your articles to IJRR office using the article submission system.
..

AWT IMAGE

AWT IMAGE
Volume 23, Issue 2 (5-2025)                   Int J Radiat Res 2025, 23(2): 357-364 | Back to browse issues page

XML Print

Download citation:
BibTeX | RIS | EndNote | Medlars | ProCite | Reference Manager | RefWorks
Send citation to:
Zhai J, Li J. Application value of multimodal ultrasound in differential diagnosis of thyroid nodules. Int J Radiat Res 2025; 23 (2) :357-364
URL: http://ijrr.com/article-1-6394-en.html
Application value of multimodal ultrasound in differential diagnosis of thyroid nodules
J. Zhai , J. Li
Head and Neck Cancer Surgery, Tangshan people's Hospital, Tangshan City, Hebei Province, China , 15832577787@163.com
Abstract:   (574 Views)
Background: Background: While conventional ultrasound (US) remains the first-line diagnostic tool, its limitations in distinguishing benign from malignant nodules necessitate exploring complementary techniques. This study aimed to evaluate the potential of integrating contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) and ultrasound elastography (UE) alongside conventional US to improve diagnostic accuracy compared to individual modalities. Materials and Methods: This retrospective analysis was conducted at Tangshan people's Hospital. We enrolled 180 consecutive patients diagnosed with thyroid nodules between January 2021 and December 2022. All participants underwent comprehensive ultrasound examinations comprising conventional US, CEUS, and UE. Fine-needle aspiration biopsy (FNAB) or surgical specimens were the gold standard for definitive diagnosis. Patients with inconclusive diagnoses or incomplete examinations were excluded. Results: Conventional US (ACR TI-RADS) achieved an AUC of 0.802, excelling in detecting suspicious features but suffering from inherent subjectivity. CEUS, with an AUC of 0.854 and a remarkable sensitivity of 95.29%, captured specific malignant patterns like centripetal enhancement and uneven distribution, but its reliance on contrast limited its applicability. UE provided an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.845 and valuable information about tissue stiffness, but its efficacy was influenced by nodule size and location. However, the true strength emerged when combining all three modalities. Multimodal ultrasound yielded an impressive AUC of 0.958 and a sensitivity of 91.76%, significantly surpassing individual performances. Conclusion: Our findings demonstrate that multimodal ultrasound, integrating conventional US, CEUS, and UE, significantly outperforms individual modalities in diagnosing thyroid nodules. Further research is warranted to refine and optimize this promising diagnostic strategy to benefit patients with thyroid nodules.
Keywords: Thyroid nodules, multimodal ultrasound, differential diagnosis, application value.
Full-Text [PDF 743 kb]   (291 Downloads)    
Type of Study: Original Research | Subject: Radiation Biology
References
1. 1. Offi C, Romano RM, Cangiano A, et al. (2021) Evaluation of LMR, NLR and PLR as predictors of malignancy in indeterminate thyroid nodules. Acta Otorhinolaryngol Ital, 41(6): 530-6. [DOI:10.14639/0392-100X-N1515]
2. Alexander EK and Cibas ES (2022) Diagnosis of thyroid nodules. Lancet Diabetes Endocrinol, 10(7): 533-9. [DOI:10.1016/S2213-8587(22)00101-2]
3. Antonia TD, Maria LI, Ancuta-Augustina GG (2023) Preoperative evaluation of thyroid nodules - Diagnosis and management strategies. Pathol Res Pract, 246: 154516. [DOI:10.1016/j.prp.2023.154516]
4. Durante C, Grani G, Lamartina L, et al. (2018) The diagnosis and management of thyroid nodules: A review. JAMA, 319(9): 914-24. [DOI:10.1001/jama.2018.0898]
5. Tessler FN, Middleton WD, Grant EG, et al. (2017) ACR thyroid imaging, reporting and data system (TI-RADS): White paper of the ACR TI-RADS Committee. J Am Coll Radiol, 14(5): 587-95. [DOI:10.1016/j.jacr.2017.01.046]
6. Chen H, Ye J, Song J, et al. (2021) Comparison of different ultrasound classification systems of thyroid nodules for identifying malignant potential: A cross-sectional study. Clinics (Sao Paulo), 76: e2126. [DOI:10.6061/clinics/2021/e2126]
7. Xi X, Gao L, Wu Q, et al. (2020) Differentiation of thyroid nodules difficult to diagnose with contrast-enhanced ultrasonography and real-time elastography. Front Oncol, 10: 112. [DOI:10.3389/fonc.2020.00112]
8. Radzina M, Ratniece M, Putrins DS, et al. (2021) Performance of Contrast-enhanced ultrasound in thyroid nodules: Review of current state and future perspectives. Cancers (Basel), 13(21): 5469. [DOI:10.3390/cancers13215469]
9. Moraes PHM, Sigrist R, Takahashi MS, et al. (2019) Ultrasound elastography in the evaluation of thyroid nodules: evolution of a promising diagnostic tool for predicting the risk of malignancy. Radiol Bras, 52(4): 247-53. [DOI:10.1590/0100-3984.2018.0084]
10. Han Z, Huang Y, Wang H, et al. (2022) Multimodal ultrasound imaging: A method to improve the accuracy of diagnosing thyroid TI-RADS 4 nodules. J Clin Ultrasound, 50(9): 1345-52. [DOI:10.1002/jcu.23352]
11. Hoang JK, Middleton WD, Tessler FN (2021) Update on ACR TI-RADS: Successes, challenges, and future directions, from the AJR special series on radiology reporting and data systems. AJR Am J Roentgenol, 216(3): 570-8. [DOI:10.2214/AJR.20.24608]
12. Tian Y, Lu Y, Zhao YZ, et al. (2018) Characteristics of high - resolution ultrasound in the assessment of microcalcification of papillary thyroid carcinoma. Zhongguo Yi Xue Ke Xue Yuan Xue Bao, 40(3): 378-84.
13. Sun C, Zhang Y, Chang Q, et al. (2020) Evaluation of a deep learning-based computer-aided diagnosis system for distinguishing benign from malignant thyroid nodules in ultrasound images. Med Phys, 47(9): 3952-60. [DOI:10.1002/mp.14301]
14. Valenciaga A, Ivancic RJ, Khawaja R, et al. (2021) Efficacy of an Integrated hands-on thyroid ultrasound session for medical student education. Cureus, 13(1): e12421. [DOI:10.7759/cureus.12421]
15. Xia R, Sun W, Yee J, et al. (2022) Do ACR TI-RADS scores demonstrate unique thyroid molecular profiles? Ultrasonography, 41(3): 480-92. [DOI:10.14366/usg.21130]
16. Alyami J, Almutairi FF, Aldoassary S, et al. (2022) Interobserver variability in ultrasound assessment of thyroid nodules. Medicine (Baltimore), 101(41): e31106. [DOI:10.1097/MD.0000000000031106]
17. Wan P, Chen F, Liu C, et al. (2021) Hierarchical temporal attention network for thyroid nodule recognition using dynamic CEUS imaging. IEEE Trans Med Imaging, 40(6): 1646-60. [DOI:10.1109/TMI.2021.3063421]
18. Kogai T, Taki K, Brent GA (2006) Enhancement of sodium/iodide symporter expression in thyroid and breast cancer. Endocr Relat Cancer, 13(3): 797-826. [DOI:10.1677/erc.1.01143]
19. Kurti M, Sabeti S, Robinson KA, et al. (2023) Quantitative biomarkers derived from a novel contrast-free ultrasound high-definition microvessel imaging for distinguishing thyroid nodules. Cancers (Basel), 15(6): 1888. [DOI:10.3390/cancers15061888]
20. Skuletic V, Radosavljevic GD, Pantic J, et al. (2017) Angiogenic and lymphangiogenic profiles in histological variants of papillary thyroid carcinoma. Pol Arch Intern Med, 127(6): 429-37. [DOI:10.20452/pamw.3999]
21. Zhao RN, Zhang B, Yang X, et al. (2015) Diagnostic value of contrast-enhanced ultrasound of thyroid nodules coexisting with Hashimoto's thyroiditis. Zhongguo Yi Xue Ke Xue Yuan Xue Bao, 37(1): 66-70.
22. Liu T, Ge X, Yu J, et al. (2015) Comparison of the application of B-mode and strain elastography ultrasound in the estimation of lymph node metastasis of papillary thyroid carcinoma based on a radiomics approach. Int J Comput Assist Radiol Surg, 13(10): 1617-27. [DOI:10.1007/s11548-018-1796-5]
23. Moon HJ, Kim EK, Yoon JH, et al. (2012) Clinical implication of elastography as a prognostic factor of papillary thyroid microcarcinoma. Ann Surg Oncol, 19(7): 2279-87. [DOI:10.1245/s10434-011-2212-3]
24. Rago T, Vitti P. (2009) Potential value of elastosonography in the diagnosis of malignancy in thyroid nodules. Q J Nucl Med Mol Imaging, 53(5): 455-64.
Add your comments about this article : Your username or Email:
CAPTCHA
Send email to the article author

Rights and permissions
Creative Commons License This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
International Journal of Radiation Research
Persian site map - English site map - Created in 0.05 seconds with 50 queries by YEKTAWEB 4718