Estimation of thyroglobulin in lymph node aspirates: Pilot experience from a tertiary referral cancer center

Background: Assessment of cervical lymph node involvement in patients with thyroid cancer either during preoperative surgical mapping or detection of recurrences during follow-up is a crucial step in the management of differentiated thyroid cancers (DTCs). In most patients, fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) confirms the presence of metastasis in lymph node. However, in cases of paucicellular lymph node aspirate or discordant sonogram and cytology results, thyroglobulin (Tg) measurement in the lymph node aspirate (FNA-Tg) is useful and a value >1 ng/ml is considered consistent with metastatic disease. Context: The addition of FNAC to the US improves the specificity, but 5–10% are nondiagnostic and 6–8% rate of false-negative results. Several studies have reported that the detection of Tg in FNA-needle washes improves the evaluation of suspicious lymph nodes in patients with DTC.Data from Indian centers on FNA-Tg are limited. Aims: We piloted the utility of FNA-Tg in patients with sonographically suspicious cervical lymph node enlargement in the setting of suspicious thyroid nodule or in the follow-up of thyroid cancer. Settings and Design: Prospective data collection. Results: We measured Tg in 13 lymph node aspirates (12 patients, 10 females) among whom 4 patients had a total thyroidectomy and 1 had a hemithyroidectomy. Eight of the 13 lymph node aspirates had FNA-Tg values >150 ng/ml, all of them had unequivocal malignant cytology and four among them had proven metastatic DTC on surgical pathology. The median FNA-Tg of the patients with malignant cytology was 7550 ng/ml with a range of 162–30,000 ng/ml. Among the remaining 5 lymph node aspirate, 2 lymph nodes showed cytological features suggestive of reactive lymphadenitis (FNA-Tg <0.2 ng/ml) and were not operated, 1 had a high-grade malignancy consistent with anaplastic thyroid cancer (FNA-Tg <0.2 ng/ml), and 2 had nondiagnostic cytology (one had non-caseating granuloma on surgical pathology [FNA-Tg 1.3 ng/ml] and in the other patient [FNA-Tg <0.2 ng/ml] surgical intervention was deferred). Conclusions: FNA-Tg was concordant with positive cytology in all patients with DTC and may serve as a useful tool in patients with negative and nondiagnostic cytology to guide surgical management

Improving bethesda reporting in thyroid cytology: A team effort goes a long way and still miles to go…

Context: Fine-needle aspiration cytology is the first step in evaluation of thyroid nodules. Although the Bethesda classification for reporting thyroid cytology has been purported that this uniformity in reporting cytology thereby facilitating clinical decision-making, there are also studies indicating that the reporting percentage and the rates of malignancy in each category vary considerably from center to center making the clinical decision more difficult. Aim and Materials and Methods: We looked at our retrospective cytology and histopathology data of thyroid nodules operated between 2012 and 2014 and then prospectively collected data during 2015–2016. In the prospective arm, for every thyroid nodule that was sampled, there was a discussion between the endocrinologist and the cytopathologist on the risk of thyroid cancer (based on the patient's history, examination findings, sonographic pattern, and the cytological appearance). Results: We noted that there was considerable improvement in reporting standards with the rates of nondiagnostic cytology dropping from 11% to 5%, an increased reporting of Bethesda Category 2 and 6 which are the definitive strata of benign and malignant nodules (38% to 41% in Category 2 and 7% to 11% in Category 6) with a high specificity (100%). There was a decline in numbers of Category 4 and 5 (13% to 9% in Category 4 and 12% to 3% in Category 5). The reporting prevalence of Category 3 increased from 19% to 27%. Conclusions: We conclude that a team approach between the clinician who performs the ultrasound and the reporting cytopathologist improves Bethesda reporting, its predictive value, and thus potentially avoiding unnecessary thyroidectomies in benign thyroid nodules and hemithyroidectomies in thyroid cancers

Imaging advances in oral cavity cancer and perspectives from a population in need: Consensus from the UK-India oral cancer imaging group

Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) accounts for a third of the cancer burden in India, with a correspondingly high cancer-specific mortality. Although treatment of OSCC in India mirrors that of high-income nations, extreme burden of disease, late presentation, and the associated advanced stage of disease pose unique challenges in a resource-constrained environment. Despite a multimodal treatment paradigm, survival rates are low. Often the cause for late presentation is the delayed diagnosis, inappropriate investigation and referral, and compromised or incorrect treatment, leading to poor patient outcomes and costs to the health-care provider. To address these issues, the first UK-India Symposium on Advances in Oral Cancer Imaging Symposium was organized in Bangalore, India, in April 2019; participants included radiologists, imaging scientists, clinicians, and data scientists from the United Kingdom, India, Singapore, and the United States. Following the discussions held during this meeting, in this manuscript, we present evidence-based guidance for the role of imaging in OSCC, recommendations for service development, and details of future potential for evolution in head and neck imaging