Correlation analysis between the pre-operative contrast-enhanced ultrasound parameters and biological characteristics of papillary thyroid carcinoma and associated risk factors for prognosis after radiofrequency ablation

The present study aimed to assess the correlation between the contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) parameters and biological characteristics of papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC), and identify risk factors of recurrence for the prognosis after radiofrequency ablation. A total of 72 patients with PTC were included. Disease recurrence and metastasis were evaluated based on the imaging performance and laboratory tests. Perfusion parameters were recorded and compared. After biopsy, the tumor tissues were subjected to hematoxylin and eosin staining, and the expression levels of P53 and Ki67 were detected using immunohistochemistry. The association between the CEUS parameters and the expression of P53 and Ki67 was analyzed. Risk factors for disease recurrence were analyzed using logistic regression. Compared with normal tissues, PTC tissue was characterized by a slow perfusion pattern with no obvious enhancement. The peak time and intensity were lower, while the initial increasing time and mean transit time (MTT) were longer in the PTC tissue. The expression levels of P53 and Ki67 in PTC tissues were associated with age, local infiltration, lymph node metastasis and the number of lesions, but not with gender, tumor size, histological type or degree of differentiation. The initial increasing time, peak time and MTT were negatively correlated, while the peak intensity was positively correlated with the expression of P53 and Ki67 in PTC tissues. Multivariate logistic regression analysis suggested that lymph node metastasis, age, local infiltration, peak intensity and MTT were risk factors for disease recurrence. In conclusion, quantitative CEUS parameters are closely linked to the biological characteristics of PTC and may serve as indicators for the prognosis of patients.