Editorial
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2024. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Clin Oncol. May 24, 2024; 15(5): 580-586
Published online May 24, 2024. doi: 10.5306/wjco.v15.i5.580
Core needle biopsy for thyroid nodules assessment-a new horizon?
David D Dolidze, Serghei Covantsev, Grigorii M Chechenin, Natalia V Pichugina, Anastasia V Bedina, Anna Bumbu
David D Dolidze, Serghei Covantsev, Department of Clinical Research and Development, Botkin Hospital, Moscow 125284, Russia
David D Dolidze, Grigorii M Chechenin, Department of Surgery, Russian Medical Academy of Continuous Professional Education, Moscow 125445, Russia
Serghei Covantsev, Emergency Surgery №76, Botkin Hospital, Moscow 125284, Russia
Grigorii M Chechenin, Department of Surgery, Botkin Hospital, Moscow 125284, Russia
Natalia V Pichugina, Department of Medical Ultrasonography, Botkin Hospital, Moscow 125284, Russia
Anastasia V Bedina, Medicine, Moscow State Medical University I.M. Sechenov, Moscow 119048, Russia
Anna Bumbu, Department of Oncology, Botkin Hospital, Moscow 125284, Russia
Author contributions: Covantsev S, Bumbu A designed the research study; Dolidze DD, Covantsev S, Chechenin GM, Pichugina NV, Bedina AV, and Bumbu A analyzed the data and wrote the manuscript; Dolidze DD, Covantsev S, Chechenin GM, Pichugina NV, Bedina AV, Bumbu A revised the manuscript. All authors have read and approve the final manuscript.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare no conflict of interest.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Serghei Covantsev, BSc, MD, Doctor, Research Scientist, Staff Physician, Surgeon, Surgical Oncologist, Department of Clinical Research and Development, Botkin Hospital, 2nd Botkin Avenue 5, 125284, Moscow, Russia. kovantsev.s.d@gmail.com
Received: December 3, 2023
Revised: January 29, 2024
Accepted: April 10, 2024
Published online: May 24, 2024
Abstract

Ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration is the standard for evaluating thyroid nodules with a high safety profile and a relatively low number of non-diagnostic cytological findings. Nevertheless, this diagnostic method traditionally has its weak points. Several diagnostic categories such as Bethesda I, III and IV are not reliable for thyroid carcinoma risk assessment. Recent advancements in a core needle biopsy made it possible to use this tool as a new method for thyroid nodules evaluation. The main feature of this method is the use of thin needles (18-21G) and guns with an automatic trigger mechanism. The histological material collected with the use of a core needle biopsy is usually superior to cytological. Therefore, the core needle biopsy can be used as a complementary technique to a standard fine needle aspiration in difficult and dubious cases of thyroid neoplasia with uncertain malignant potential.

Keywords: Core-needle biopsy, Thyroid, Follicular tumor, Fine-needle aspiration, Thyroid cancer

Core Tip: Modern oncology is largely based on histopathological examination of preoperative specimens. However, decision to perform thyroid surgery is based on results of fine-needle aspiration cytology. It is considered that core-needle biopsy is an invasive procedure for an abundantly vascularized gland. Advances in technical construction of automatic and semi-automatic guns has led to the possibility of safe and efficient obtainment of thyroid histological specimens before surgery. Ultrasound-guided core-needle biopsy is now a widely implemented procedure in difficult and dubious cases of thyroid neoplasia owing to the advances in thyroid imaging. The latest advances in this field demonstrate that core-needle biopsy is a safe procedure that can decrease the number of unnecessary thyroid surgery and can provide additional information in doubtful cases.