J Pathol Transl Med.  2017 Nov;51(6):565-570. 10.4132/jptm.2017.08.12.

Current Status of Thyroid Fine-Needle Aspiration Practice in Thailand

Affiliations
  • 1Department of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand. andrey.b@chula.ac.th
  • 2Department of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai, Thailand.
  • 3Department of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, Khon Kaen University, Khon Kaen, Thailand.

Abstract

Thyroid carcinoma is one of the leading malignancies in Thailand increasingly prevalent in the female population. Fine-needle aspiration (FNA) cytology is a widely used diagnostic tool for evaluation of thyroid nodules and thyroid cancer. Thyroid FNA is a routine procedure universally performed in Thai hospitals by a variety of clinical specialists. Manual guidance is the first-line choice complemented by ultrasound assistance in selected cases. Despite national guidelines recommendations, the diagnostic criteria and terminology of the Bethesda System for Reporting Thyroid Cytopathology (TBSRTC) was slowly adopted in the local settings. Currently, the Bethesda system is actively promoted by the local professional societies as a uniform reporting system. Experience with thyroid FNA has been rarely reported to date"”only a handful of publications are available in local journals. Our review, in addition to presenting various aspects of thyroid FNA in Thailand, established for the first time national references for a certain statistical outputs of TBSRTC based on the original multi-institutional cohort. The risk of malignancy in 2,017 operated thyroid nodules collected from three tertiary thyroid cancer centers was 21.7%, 14.7%, 35.9%, 44.4%, 76.7%, and 92.6% for categories I to VI, respectively. The malignancy risk in several diagnostic categories (II to IV) was higher than the risk estimated by TBSRTC and recent meta-analysis studies. We endorse the use of uniform terminology of the Bethesda system in Thailand, which will help facilitate communication among diverse medical professionals involved in the management of patients with thyroid nodules, to share local experience with the international audience.

Keyword

Fine-needle aspiration cytology; Thyroid fine-needle aspiration; The Bethesda System for Reporting Thyroid Cytopathology (TBSRTC); Review; Thailand

MeSH Terms

Asian Continental Ancestry Group
Biopsy, Fine-Needle*
Clothing
Cohort Studies
Complement System Proteins
Female
Hand
Humans
Specialization
Thailand*
Thyroid Gland*
Thyroid Neoplasms
Thyroid Nodule
Ultrasonography
Complement System Proteins

Cited by  2 articles

The Use of Fine-Needle Aspiration (FNA) Cytology in Patients with Thyroid Nodules in Asia: A Brief Overview of Studies from the Working Group of Asian Thyroid FNA Cytology
Chan Kwon Jung, SoonWon Hong, Andrey Bychkov, Kennichi Kakudo
J Pathol Transl Med. 2017;51(6):571-578.    doi: 10.4132/jptm.2017.10.19.

The Asian Thyroid Working Group, from 2017 to 2023
Kennichi Kakudo, Chan Kwon Jung, Zhiyan Liu, Mitsuyoshi Hirokawa, Andrey Bychkov, Huy Gia Vuong, Somboon Keelawat, Radhika Srinivasan, Jen-Fan Hang, Chiung-Ru Lai
J Pathol Transl Med. 2023;57(6):289-304.    doi: 10.4132/jptm.2023.10.04.


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