title: The utility of molecular markers in pre-operative assessment of thyroid nodules.
abstract: The pre-operative diagnosis of thyroid tumors is determined by gold standard fine needle aspiration (FNA) biopsy. This has been widely accepted and offers the most cost-effective approach for evaluation of thyroid nodules. However, its diagnostic accuracy can pose a challenging scenario to surgeons. These diagnostic difficulties may subject patients to unnecessary thyroidectomies for benign thyroid nodules. Thus, additional molecular tests are needed to improve the sensitivity and specificity of FNA. The role of molecular markers is being proposed to predict the type and risk of malignancy to abate the need for diagnostic thyroidectomies. This review discusses their utility and validity in pre-operative diagnosis of thyroid nodules and how these markers can enhance the accuracy of FNA cytology.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Tulane University School of Medicine, Tulane University School of Medicine, New Orleans, LA 70112, USA.
authors.forename: Parisha
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Bhatia
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Tulane University School of Medicine, Tulane University School of Medicine, New Orleans, LA 70112, USA.
authors.forename: Zakaria Y
authors.initials: ZY
authors.lastname: Abd Elmageed
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology, Tulane University School of Medicine, Tulane University School of Medicine, New Orleans, LA 70112, USA.
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Friedlander
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology, Tulane University School of Medicine, Tulane University School of Medicine, New Orleans, LA 70112, USA.
authors.forename: Rizwan
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Aslam
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Tulane University School of Medicine, Tulane University School of Medicine, New Orleans, LA 70112, USA.|Department of Otolaryngology, Tulane University School of Medicine, Tulane University School of Medicine, New Orleans, LA 70112, USA.
authors.forename: Emad
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Kandil
mesh_terms: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D044963:Biopsy, Fine-Needle; D000066491:Clinical Decision-Making; D004252:DNA Mutational Analysis; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D011300:Preoperative Care; D013964:Thyroid Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000235:genetics; D016606:Thyroid Nodule / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000235:genetics* / Q000601:surgery
chemical_list: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor
keywords: biological markers; cytodiagnosis; genetic markers; immunochemistry; mutations; thyroid neoplasms; thyroid nodules; thyroidectomy