Objective: To compare the difference between the different perfusional regions in solid thyroid nodules.
Methods: From October 2013 to May 2015, CEUS was performed in 59 patients who hospitalizated in Zhoushan Hospital with solid thyroid nodules before operation. The time-intensity curve (TIC) of normal thyroid tissue, tumor edge and tumor center was drawn to collect perfusion index like the peak intensity (PI), time to peak (TP), area under the curve (AUC), mean transit time (MTT). After surgery, immunohistochemical staining was performed to evaluate the MVD in surgical specimens.Quantitative parameters and MVD were assessed by the Spearman correlation analysis.
Results: There were 31 thyroid papillary carcinomas and 28 nodular goiters. In malignant tumor group, the PI of normal thyroid tissue, tumor edge and tumor center were 28% ± 6%, 21% ± 7% and 14% ± 5%, respectively, while the AUC and MVD of the same regions were (1 865 ± 1 079)%S, (1 376 ± 595)%S, (805 ± 412)%S and(33 ± 6), (27 ± 6)/HP, (17 ± 6)/HP, respectively. The differences were statistically significant. However, in benign tumor group, there was no obvious statistic difference in the quantitative parameters and MVD between the three regions. The PI values of thyroid carcinomas and nodular goiters all were positively correlated with MVD (r=0.819, r=0.838, P<0.05).
Conclusions: The variance of perfusion parameters were valuable diagnostic basis in differential diagnosis between benign and malignant thyroid nodules. They were associated with MVD, which might reflect the microvessel distributional characteristics of neoplasm and might be one of bases used to evaluate neoplasm angiogenesis.