Virtual Touch Tissue Quantification in the Differential Diagnosis of Benign and Malignant Thyroid Nodules

Abstract

Purpose The aim of this study was to evaluate the diagnostic utility of the virtual touch tissue quantification (VTQ) technology for differentiating between benign and malignant thyroid nodules. Materials and Methods 198 nodules (168 benign and 30 malignant nodules) identified in 164 patients with available VTQ velocity data and fine-needle aspiration cytology or post-surgical pathological results were included. The VTQ velocities of nodules and adjacent thyroid tissue were examined. Results Malignant nodules had a significantly higher VTQ velocity (3.06 ± 1.04 m/s, range: 1.90–6.46 m/s) than that of benign nodules (2.40 ± 0.85 m/s, range: 0.69–8.09 m/s) (p = 0.002). The VTQ velocity ratio between malignant nodules and adjacent thyroid tissue (1.39 ± 0.43, range: 0.89–2.65) was also statistically higher than that of benign nodules (1.15 ± 0.44, range: 0.26–3.47) (p = 0.008). The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve for the VTQ velocity was 0.72 with a cutoff point of 2.37 m/s and that of the VTQ velocity ratio was 0.68 with a cutoff point of 1.26. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, and accuracy for the VTQ velocity were 86.7%, 50.6%, 23.9%, 95.5%, and 56.1%, respectively and 60.0%, 72.0%, 27.7%, 91.0%, and 70.2%, respectively for the VTQ velocity ratio. Conclusion VTQ may be helpful in differentiating malignant and benign thyroid nodules with high negative predictive value.

Keywords

• acoustic radiation force impulse imaging
• elasticity imaging techniques
• thyroid nodules
• ultrasonography