Influence of presence/absence of thyroid gland on the cutoff value for thyroglobulin in lymph-node aspiration to detect metastatic papillary thyroid carcinoma

BACKGROUND: Thyroglobulin measurement with fine-needle aspiration (Tg-FNA) is a sensitive method for detecting metastatic papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC). However, the diagnostic threshold is not well established and the influence of the thyroid gland on the cutoff value is also controversial. In this study, patients were classified into two groups according to the presence or absence of thyroid tissue, to determine an appropriate cutoff value for clinical practice. METHODS: Patients with a history of thyroid nodules or surgery for PTC and with enlarged cervical lymph nodes on an FNA examination were enrolled for Tg-FNA detection. RESULTS: One hundred ninety-six lymph nodes (189 patients) were included: 100 from preoperative patients, 49 from patients treated with partial thyroid ablation, and 47 from patients with total thyroid ablation. In 149 lymph nodes from patient with thyroids, the cutoff value for Tg-FNA was 55.99 ng/mL (sensitivity, 95.1%; specificity, 100%), whereas in 47 lymph nodes from patients without a thyroid, it was 9.71 ng/mL (sensitivity, 96.7%; specificity, 100%). Thus, the cutoff value for Tg-FNA was higher in patients with thyroids than in patients without thyroids. CONCLUSIONS: The cutoff value for Tg-FNA is influenced by residual thyroid tissue, and a higher cutoff value is recommended for patients with thyroids than for patients without thyroids. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12885-017-3296-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.