Diagnostic Efficiency of Thyroglobulin in Lymph Node Fine-needle Aspiration Washout: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis
Authors' conclusion
FNA-Tg showed high diagnostic accuracy, especially after thyroidectomy, with minimal s-Tg-Ab interference, supporting its role in PTC surveillance.
Study context
- Population
- Papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) patients with cervical lymphadenopathy who underwent FNA-Tg pre- or postthyroidectomy
- Outcome
- Diagnostic performance of FNA-Tg for cervical lymph node metastases in PTC
Methodological detailsQUADAS-2 quality assessment
- QUADAS-2 quality assessment
Pooled result
As reported in the abstract
Cervical lymph node metastases (pooled)
| Group | Sensitivity | Specificity | Diagnostic OR | AUC |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FNA-Tg | 0.94 (95% CI 0.91-0.96) | 0.92 (95% CI 0.88-0.94) | 174.20 (95% CI 87.05-348.61) | 0.98 (95% CI 0.96-0.99) |
FNA-Tg
Sensitivity0.94 (95% CI 0.91-0.96)
Specificity0.92 (95% CI 0.88-0.94)
Diagnostic OR174.20 (95% CI 87.05-348.61)
AUC0.98 (95% CI 0.96-0.99)
Further pooled results
Diagnostic performance postthyroidectomy (subgroup)
- Sensitivity
- 0.96 (95% CI: 0.94-0.98)
- Specificity
- 0.93 (95% CI: 0.86-0.96)
- Diagnostic odds ratio (DOR)
- 305.87 (95% CI: 127.99-730.93)
- AUC
- 0.98 (95% CI: 0.97-0.99)
Diagnostic performance without thyroid gland present (subgroup)
- Sensitivity
- 0.96 (95% CI: 0.93-0.97)
- Specificity
- 0.93 (95% CI: 0.87-0.97)
- DOR
- 300.27 (95% CI: 118.47-761.05)
- AUC
- 0.98 (95% CI: 0.97-0.99)
Correlation of FNA-Tg with serum thyroglobin (s-Tg) and s-Tg antibody (s-Tg-Ab)
- FNA-Tg correlated weakly with s-Tg but not with s-Tg-Ab
Original publication
Diagnostic Efficiency of Thyroglobulin in Lymph Node Fine-needle Aspiration Washout: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. Published 19 August 2025. doi:10.
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