Ultrasound-guided thyroid fine-needle aspiration and concurrent core needle biopsy: A comparative study with practical clinical scenarios.

Abstract

Objective: Fine-needle aspiration (FNA) is the gold standard for evaluating thyroid nodules. However, the patient's clinical condition rarely demands an immediate, definitive diagnosis or additional ancillary studies. This study evaluates the utility of thyroid core needle biopsies (CNBs) as an adjunct to FNA, particularly when ancillary studies are not feasible on cytologic material.

Methods: The electronic pathology database at a large academic institution was searched for cases of thyroid FNA with concurrent CNB (2000-2024). In total, 140 cases were included, and data on patient demographics, nodule characteristics, diagnoses from cytology and CNB, ancillary studies, and surgical pathology diagnosis were recorded.

Results: A definitive diagnosis was made on 98 (70%) cases of CNB concurrent with FNA. Core needle biopsies provided a definitive diagnosis in 16 (64%) FNA category I cases of The Bethesda System for Reporting Thyroid Cytopathology. Fifty-four (38.5%) CNBs were benign, and 43 (30.7%) CNBs were malignant, including 23 (16.4%) primary thyroid carcinomas, 9 (6.4%) lymphomas, 6 (4.2%) secondary carcinomas, and 5 (3.5%) other malignancies. Nine CNB cases were diagnosed as indeterminate, including 5 atypical cases and 4 suspicious for malignancy. Ancillary studies, including immunostains (49), molecular testing (19), PD-L1 (3), and fluorescence in situ hybridization (2), were performed in 73 (52%) CNBs, and histology diagnoses were in agreement in 39 (79.6%) of 49 cases. Eleven (7.8%) CNBs were nondiagnostic. Minor complications (small hematomas) occurred in 3 (2%) cases.

Conclusions: Concurrent FNA and CNB can be valuable, potentially reducing the surgery rate. Core needle biopsy is particularly useful for repeatedly nondiagnostic FNA, atypical cells, or when tissue is needed for diagnostic, prognostic, or molecular profiling of malignancies such as anaplastic thyroid carcinoma.