title: Virtual touch tissue quantification (VTQ) in the diagnosis of thyroid nodules with coexistent chronic autoimmune Hashimoto's thyroiditis: a preliminary study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This study aimed at detecting whether Virtual Touch Tissue Quantification (VTQ) could be applied to differentiate between benign and malignant thyroid nodules with chronic autoimmune Hashimoto's thyroiditis (HT).
  
  
  METHODS
  Convenient ultrasound and Virtual Touch Tissue Quantification were performed in 118 patients with 140 thyroid nodules with histology results. The HT group consisted of 46 patients with 58 nodules. The non-HT group consisted of 72 patients with 82 nodules.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The stiffness of extra-nodular thyroid tissue could be significantly affected by the severity of chronic autoimmune thyroiditis. The shear wave velocity of thyroid benign nodules and malignant nodules did not significantly differ in the HT group as compared with the non-HT group (benign nodules: 2.13±0.32m/s vs 1.98±0.48m/s, P=0.122; malignant nodules: 3.32±0.77m/s vs 3.30±0.74m/s, P=0.894). In two groups, the shear wave velocity of malignant nodules is significantly higher than that of benign nodules (HT group: 3.32±0.77m/s vs 2.13±0.32m/s; non-HT group: 3.30±0.74m/s vs 1.98±0.48m/s, P<0.001). The best cutoff point for shear wave velocity between malignant and benign thyroid nodules was 2.75m/s.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Virtual Touch Tissue Quantification technology could be performed in the differential diagnosis between malignant thyroid nodules and benign thyroid nodules independently from the coexistence of chronic autoimmune thyroiditis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Ultrasound, Ren Ji Hospital, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, No.1630 Dongfang Road, Shanghai 200127, China. Electronic address: jine_nina@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Ruijun
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Han
authors.affiliation: Department of Ultrasound, Ren Ji Hospital, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, No.1630 Dongfang Road, Shanghai 200127, China. Electronic address: prfenghuali@126.com.
authors.forename: Fenghua
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Ultrasound, Ren Ji Hospital, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, No.1630 Dongfang Road, Shanghai 200127, China.
authors.forename: Yan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Departmen of Surgery, Ren Ji Hospital, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, No.1630 Dongfang Road, Shanghai 200127, China. Electronic address: yingzhiqiang@126.com.
authors.forename: Zhiqiang
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Ying
authors.affiliation: Departmen of Surgery, Ren Ji Hospital, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, No.1630 Dongfang Road, Shanghai 200127, China. Electronic address: profzhangyun@126.com.
authors.forename: Yun
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhang
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D054459:Elasticity Imaging Techniques / Q000379:methods; D005260:Female; D050031:Hashimoto Disease / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008866:Microsurgery; D008875:Middle Aged; D012372:ROC Curve; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D013964:Thyroid Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology; D016606:Thyroid Nodule / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology*
keywords: Acoustic Radiation Force Impulse; Hashimoto's thyroiditis; Thyroid cancer; Thyroid nodule; Ultrasound; Virtual Touch Tissue Quantification