A comparison of the efficiency of diagnostic ultrasound and magnetic resonance imaging of cervical lymph nodes in papillary thyroid carcinoma

OBJECTIVE: To compare and evaluate diagnostic capabilities of preoperative ultrasonography (US) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in the cervical lymph nodes of patients with papillary thyroid cancer. METHODS: A retrospective dataset involving 156 patients who had undergone thyroidectomy and preoperative US and MRI was assembled. Among these, 69 had cervical lymph node metastasis and 87 did not. At least four radiologists unilaterally and spontaneously investigated the US and MRI attributes of the cervical lymph nodes. The efficiency of diagnostic imaging for cervical lymph nodes, including their true-positive rate or sensitivity, true-negative rate or specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, and predictive accuracy were analysed and assessed. RESULTS: In the assessment of cervical lymph node metastases of papillary thyroid cancer, the diagnostic sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, and accuracy of diagnostic US vs. MRI were 58.0% vs. 79.7%, 69.0% vs. 83.9%, 59.7% vs. 79.7%, 67.4% vs. 83.9%, and 64.1% vs. 82.1%, respectively. The accuracy consistency of the two imaging modalities was 83.5%. CONCLUSIONS: MRI is more effective than US in diagnosing and assessing cervical lymph node metastases of papillary thyroid cancer.