Evaluation of four variants of the thyroid imaging reporting and data system (TIRADS) classification in patients with multinodular goitre — initial study

Abstract

Introduction: The aim of this study was to evaluate the usefulness of four variants of the Thyroid Imaging Reporting and Data System (TIRADS) in the differentiation of focal lesions in individuals with multinodular goitre. Materials and methods: The study was approved by the Local Bioethical Committee. Each patient gave informed consent before enrolment. A total of 163 nodules in 124 patients with multinodular goitre were evaluated by ultrasound. B-mode and PD imaging and strain elastography were performed. Archived images were evaluated via retrospective analysis using four different proposed TIRADS classifications. Results: Sensitivity and specificity of the Horvath, Park, Kwak, and Russ classifications were 0.625 and 0.769, 0.813 and 0.864, 0.938 and 0.667, and 0.875 and 0.293, respectively. Positive and negative predictive values were 0.227 and 0.95, 0.394 and 0.977, 0.234 and 0.99, and 0.119 and 0.956, respectively. Receiver operating characteristic analysis suggests that the best differentiation potential was demonstrated by the Kwak classification with an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.896, followed by the Park (AUC = 0.872), Horvath (AUC = 0.774), and Russ (AUC = 0.729) classifications. Conclusions: The TIRADS classification proposed by Kwak can be a useful tool in daily practice for the evaluation of thyroid cancer in individuals with multinodular goitre, particularly for selecting cases that require biopsy, which may improve and simplify clinical decision making. To adopt a definitive, comprehensive variant of the TIRADS classification with potential for universal, practical application, further prospective studies that include improvement of the lexicon and evaluation of the full spectrum of thyroid malignancy are warranted.