State of the art of thyroid pathology: FNA diagnostic accuracy in an intermediate center in Ibagué

Abstract

Background: In Colombia, thyroid cancer is the 7th cancer in incidence and mortality for both sexes. Currently the fine needle aspiration (FNA) is the most used method for studying nodular lesions of the thyroid. Objective: Describe the characteristics of a sample of surgical specimens in a histopathological diagnostic centre located in an intermediate city, correlate characteristics of PTC variants and calculate diagnostic accuracy for FNA Materials and methods: In this retrospective study pathology report data was gathered from a diagnosis centre, information was included from patients who underwent thyroid biopsy or resection between years 2015 to 2022, with a total of 495 cases, information was gathered, and a statistical analysis was performed. Results: a higher frequency for all thyroid pathologies in patients younger than 55 years of age. In men papillary carcinoma (PTC) was the most frequent diagnosis (42.7%) while in women it was hyperplasia (39.1%). From all diagnoses of PTC (n=233)77.6% had an additional diagnosis. Cases with previous FNA, 65.3% of which had a Bethesda score of II to IV and 30.5% of those had a definitive diagnosis of carcinoma. Conclusions: There is coexistence of benign thyroid diseases and PTC. FNA is essential for the initial histopathological study of thyroid lesions, however it has multiple factors that may affect its diagnostic accuracy.