Table 1.
Clinical and molecular characteristics of participants
| High‐risk cases a (n = 125) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total (n = 277) | with surgery (n = 90) | Loss to surgical follow‐up (n = 35) | P value | |
| Age, years | 44.9 ± 13.2 | 43.1 ± 12.5 | 41.8 ± 13.1 | .597 |
| Sex | .688 | |||
| Male | 58(20.9) | 21 (23.3) | 7 (20.0) | |
| Female | 219 (79.1) | 69 (76.7) | 28 (80.0) | |
| TI‐RADS grading | .648 | |||
| NA | 9 (3.2) | ‐ | ‐ | |
| 1 ~ 2 | 4 (1.4) | 1 (1.1) | 0 | |
| 3 | 48 (17.3) | 5 (5.6) | 2 (5.9) | |
| 4 | 199 (71.8) | 70 (77.8) | 29 (85.3) | |
| 5 | 12 (4.3) | 9 (10.0) | 3 (8.8) | |
| 6 | 5 (1.8) | 5 (5.6) | 0 | |
| Nodules number | ||||
| NA | 4 (1.4) | .27 | ||
| 1 | 86 (31.0) | 37 (41.1) | 9 (26.5) | |
| 2 | 36 (13.0) | 16 (17.8) | 6 (17.6) | |
| ≥3 | 151 (54.5) | 37 (41.1) | 19 (55.9) | |
| Bethesda classification for FNA cytology | .974 | |||
| I: ND/UNS | 43 (15.5) | 6 (6.7) | 2 (5.7) | |
| II: benign | 112 (40.4) | 5 (5.6) | 2 (5.7) | |
| III: AUS/FLUS | 16 (5.8) | 4 (4.4) | 1 (2.9) | |
| IV: FN/SFN | 2 (0.7) | 1 (1.1) | 0 | |
| V: SM | 18 (6.5) | 12 (13.3) | 6 (17.1) | |
| VI: malignancy | 86 (31.0) | 62 (68.9) | 24 (68.6) | |
| BRAF V600E mutation | ||||
| ARMS‐PCR positive | 96 (34.7) | 69 (76.7) | 27 (77.1) | 1.00 |
| ddPCR positive | 101 (36.5) | 73 (81.1) | 28 (80.0) | .887 |
TI‐RADS: Thyroid Imaging Reporting and Data System (TI‐RADS), 1: normal thyroid gland; 2: benign conditions (0% risk of malignancy); 3: probably benign nodules (<5% malignancy); 4: suspicious nodules (5%‐80% malignancy); 5: probably malignant nodules (>80% malignancy); 6: biopsy‐proven malignancy.
Bethesda classification: I, specimens nondiagnostic/unsatisfactory (ND/UNS); II, benign; III, atypia of undetermined significance/follicular lesion of undetermined significance (AUS/FLUS); IV, follicular neoplasm/suspicious for a follicular neoplasia (FN/SFN); V, suspicious for malignancy (SM); VI, malignancy.
Abbreviations: FNA, fine‐needle aspirate; NA, not available.
High‐risk cases were defined as a patient with Bethesda category V/VI on cytopathology, or positive BRAF V600E mutation detected by ARMS, or those referred to surgery by the clinical judgment of physicians.