title: Non-diagnostic cytological outcome of thyroid biopsy and the risk of thyroid malignancy.
abstract: This study assessed the incidence of neoplasms, including malignant tumors, in lesions within the thyroid gland from which non-diagnostic biopsy aspirates were obtained. An auxiliary goal of the study was an evaluation of the diagnostic efficacy of repeated biopsy in cases when the first biopsy was non-diagnostic. Thus, results of 4603 fine-needle aspiration biopsies (FNABs) were submitted to histopathological verification. The verification revealed the rate of malignancy at 7.1% for non-diagnostic biopsies, i.e., significantly higher (p < 0.001) than that in cases FNAB-diagnosed as benign lesions (2.1%). Repeated biopsy, performed when inadequate material has been collected, seems to be less effective than the first biopsy (non-diagnostic specimens: 14.4% vs 8.9%; p < 0.01). The occurrence of neoplasms in the goiter was significantly higher (p < 0.0001) in patients with non-diagnostic first FNAB than in those with diagnostic one (50.7% vs 33.5%, p < 0.001). And again, in patients with two non-diagnostic FNABs, the occurrence of neoplasms was higher than that in patients with the second diagnostic cytology (63% vs 41.2%, p < 0.05). According to our data, patients with non-diagnostic FNAB results should be very carefully monitored, especially when the repeated biopsy is either non-diagnostic again or not performed at all.
authors.affiliation: Department of Thyroidology, Institute of Endocrinology, Medical University of Łódz, Poland.
authors.forename: Dorota
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Słowińnska-Klencka
authors.forename: Stanisław
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sporny
authors.forename: Mariusz
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Klencki
authors.forename: Andrzej
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lewińnski
mesh_terms: D044963:Biopsy, Fine-Needle; D006801:Humans; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D013964:Thyroid Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology*