The value of combined application of ultrasound-guided fine needle aspiration cytology and thyroglobulin measurement for the diagnosis of cervical lymph node metastases from thyroid cancer

Objective: the aim of this study was to explore the diagnostic value of ultrasound-guided (us-guided) fine-needle aspiration cytology (fnac), thyroglobulin measurement on fine-needle aspiration (fna-tg), combined us-guided fnac, and the ratio between fna-tg and serum tg (fna-tg/serum tg) for patients with cervical lymph node (cln) metastases from thyroid carcinoma. methods: we selected 148 patients with thyroid cancer with suspicious cln metastases who met the inclusion criteria. fnac findings, fna-tg levels, and serum tg levels were evaluated before surgical treatment. the results of fnac and fna-tg from clns were analyzed retrospectively. results: ninety-four of 148 cases were metastatic and 54 were benign. the sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of fnac were 68.1%, 100.0%, and 79.7%, respectively. the sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of fna-tg/serum tg were 91.5%, 88.9%, and 90.5%, respectively. the sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of fna-tg [10 ng/ml] were 98.9%, 68.5%, and 87.8%, respectively. the sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of combined us-guided fnac and fna-tg/serum tg were 95.7%, 96.3%, and 95.9%, respectively. there was a statistically significant difference between fnac and combined us-guided fnac and fna-tg/serum tg for sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy (p < 0.05). conclusion: the method of fna-tg/serum tg is sensitive enough for diagnosing cln metastases from thyroid cancer. the combined application of us-guided fnac and fna-tg/serum tg contributes to improving the accuracy of diagnosing cln metastases in patients with thyroid cancer.