Does the Bethesda category predict aggressive features in differentiated thyroid cancer?

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the importance of preoperative cytology of thyroid nodules and its relationship with mortality risk, recurrence risk, dynamic stratification, and aggressive characteristics (vascular invasion, aggressive histology, incomplete tumor resection, extrathyroidal extension of the tumor, and presence of lymph node and distant metastases).

SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Retrospective evaluation of 153 patients diagnosed with differentiated thyroid carcinoma (DTC) and following up at the Hospital Universitário Presidente Dutra between January 1999 and December 2016.

RESULTS: In all, 96% of the patients were female, 79.7% had papillary carcinoma and the most common fine-needle aspiration (FNA) result was Bethesda II (29.4%). The mean age was 43.11 ± 12.8 years. Overall, 85% of the patients progressed without any evidence of disease. There was a statistically significant relationship between the presurgical FNA and the presence of extrathyroidal extension, vascular invasion, and lymph node metastasis.

CONCLUSIONS: The preoperative cytology of the nodule may have an impact on the follow-up of patients with DTC. Future studies in a larger population are required to confirm this finding.