minimally invasive variant of thyroid follicular carcinoma

Although approximately 85% of the aspirated nodules are diagnosed as benign lesions, the remaining 15% are classified as microfollicular lesions, which means that no definite statement can be made as to their benign or malignant nature. Subsequently, 90–95% of these patients currently undergo unnecessary thyroidectomy.

Moreover, the diagnosis of follicular thyroid cancer, which relies on the criteria of vascular invasion and capsular infiltration, remains a challenge, particularly in the minimally invasive variant of follicular cancer, for which debates arise about what constitutes a true capsular infiltration.

These problems have motivated the search for a suitable marker of malignancy that may improve the accuracy of the diagnosis and possibly reduce the number of unnecessary surgical interventions.