title: ACR Thyroid Imaging, Reporting and Data System (TI-RADS): White Paper of the ACR TI-RADS Committee.
abstract: Thyroid nodules are a frequent finding on neck sonography. Most nodules are benign; therefore, many nodules are biopsied to identify the small number that are malignant or require surgery for a definitive diagnosis. Since 2009, many professional societies and investigators have proposed ultrasound-based risk stratification systems to identify nodules that warrant biopsy or sonographic follow-up. Because some of these systems were founded on the BI-RADS®classification that is widely used in breast imaging, their authors chose to apply the acronym TI-RADS, for Thyroid Imaging, Reporting and Data System. In 2012, the ACR convened committees to (1) provide recommendations for reporting incidental thyroid nodules, (2) develop a set of standard terms (lexicon) for ultrasound reporting, and (3) propose a TI-RADS on the basis of the lexicon. The committees published the results of the first two efforts in 2015. In this article, the authors present the ACR TI-RADS Committee's recommendations, which provide guidance regarding management of thyroid nodules on the basis of their ultrasound appearance. The authors also describe the committee's future directions.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama. Electronic address: ftessler@uabmc.edu.
authors.forename: Franklin N
authors.initials: FN
authors.lastname: Tessler
authors.affiliation: Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology, Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, Missouri.
authors.forename: William D
authors.initials: WD
authors.lastname: Middleton
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California.
authors.forename: Edward G
authors.initials: EG
authors.lastname: Grant
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, North Carolina.
authors.forename: Jenny K
authors.initials: JK
authors.lastname: Hoang
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama.
authors.forename: Lincoln L
authors.initials: LL
authors.lastname: Berland
authors.affiliation: Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology, Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, Missouri.
authors.forename: Sharlene A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Teefey
authors.affiliation: Department of Diagnostic Imaging Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island.
authors.forename: John J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Cronan
authors.affiliation: Department of Diagnostic Imaging Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island.
authors.forename: Michael D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Beland
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Stanford University Medical Center, Stanford, California.
authors.forename: Terry S
authors.initials: TS
authors.lastname: Desser
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts.
authors.forename: Mary C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Frates
authors.affiliation: Hammers Healthcare Imaging, New Haven, Connecticut; Department of Internal Medicine, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut.
authors.forename: Lynwood W
authors.initials: LW
authors.lastname: Hammers
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology and Radiological Science, Johns Hopkins University, School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland.
authors.forename: Ulrike M
authors.initials: UM
authors.lastname: Hamper
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
authors.forename: Jill E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Langer
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, Rochester, Minnesota.
authors.forename: Carl C
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Reading
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut.
authors.forename: Leslie M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Scoutt
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, University of Texas Health Sciences Center, San Antonio, Texas.
authors.forename: A Thomas
authors.initials: AT
authors.lastname: Stavros
mesh_terms: D026683:Advisory Committees; D001706:Biopsy; D006801:Humans; D011871:Radiology; D012107:Research Design; D013961:Thyroid Gland / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology; D016606:Thyroid Nodule / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology; D014463:Ultrasonography
keywords: Thyroid nodule; management guidelines; thyroid cancer; ultrasound