Table II.

Comparison of the prediction value of NGS and US for clinical TC diagnosis.

A, NGS
Pathological diagnosis	High risk	Low risk	Sensitivity(%)	Specificity(%)
Malignant	65	17	79.27
Benign	1	15		93.75
PPV	98.48%
NPV		46.88%
Histological type	Count	Malignant	Benign	Sensitivity (%)
PTC	53	39	13	75.00
ATC	13	11	2	84.62
MTC	10	10	0	100.00
FTC	7	5	2	71.43
B, US
Pathological diagnosis	4	<4	Sensitivity (%)	Specificity (%)
Malignant	63	19	76.83
Benign	15	1		6.25
PPV	80.77%
NPV		5.00%
Histological type	Count	4	<4	Sensitivity (%)
PTC	52	49	3	94.23
ATC	13	5	8	38.46
MTC	10	7	3	70.00
FTC	7	2	5	28.57

(A) Among the NGS high-risk patients, 65 were confirmed to be malignant, with only 1 benign sample. In the low-risk patients, 15 were benign and 17 were malignant. The sensitivity and specificity of NGS were 79.27 and 93.75%, respectively. The PPV and NPV were 98.48 and 46.88%, respectively. The sensitivity of NGS was >70% in all subtypes, particularly in MTC, when it was up to 100%. (B) Among the high-risk patients by US examination, 63 were confirmed to be malignant and 15 were benign. In the low-risk patients, 1 was benign and 19 were malignant. The sensitivity and specificity of US were 76.83 and 6.25%, respectively. The PPV and NPV were 80.77 and 5.00%, respectively. As analyzed by pathological subtypes, US had the highest sensitivity in PTC, up to 94.23%. However, the sensitivity in ATC and FTC was only 38.46 and 28.57%, respectively. NGS, next-generation sequencing; US, ultrasound; TC, thyroid cancer; PPV, positive predictive value; NPV, negative predictive value; PTC, papillary thyroid cancer; ATC, anaplastic thyroid cancer; MTC, medullary thyroid cancer; FTC, follicular thyroid cancer.