Evaluation of the Role of Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy in the Diagnosis of Follicular Malignancies of Thyroid

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate role of magnetic resonance spectroscopy in differentiating benign from malignant follicular nodules. DESIGN: Prospective study. SETTING: Department of Surgery in collaboration with Department of Radio Diagnosis, Maulana Azad Medical College, Delhi, India. PATIENTS: Twenty-five patients with a solitary thyroid nodule with follicular etiology. INTERVENTIONS: Magnetic resonance spectroscopy was carried out in all the cases, and its findings were compared with the final diagnosis based on histopathological examination of sample obtained at surgery. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Choline peak detected on MRS. RESULTS: There were 17 benign cases, 16 follicular adenomas, and 1 colloid goiter. Of the 17 benign cases, only 1 showed choline peak; however, all 8 follicular carcinoma cases showed prominent choline peak. Hence, the sensitivity is 100% while the specificity is 94.11%. CONCLUSION: Magnetic resonance spectroscopy may prove to be a sensitive diagnostic tool in differentiating follicular adenomas from carcinomas.