Journal of Pathology and Translational Medicine

Review Article

Recent topics on thyroid cytopathology: reporting systems and ancillary studies: Mitsuyoshi Hirokawa, Ayana Suzuki; J Pathol Transl Med. 2025;59(4):214-224. Published online June 30, 2025; DOI: https://doi.org/10.4132/jptm.2025.04.18

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Abstract PDF: As fine-needle aspiration techniques and diagnostic methodologies for thyroid nodules have continued to evolve and reporting systems have been updated accordingly, we need to be up to date with the latest information to achieve accurate diagnoses. However, the diagnostic approaches and therapeutic strategies for thyroid nodules vary across laboratories and institutions. Several differences exist between Western and Eastern practices regarding thyroid fine-needle aspiration. This review describes the reporting systems for thyroid cytopathology and ancillary studies. Updated reporting systems enhance the accuracy, consistency, and clarity of cytology reporting, leading to improved patient outcomes and management strategies. Although a single global reporting system is optimal, reporting systems tailored to each country is acceptable. In such cases, compatibility must be ensured to facilitate data sharing. Ancillary methods include liquid-based cytology, immunocytochemistry, biochemical measurements, flow cytometry, molecular testing, and artificial intelligence, all of which improve diagnostic accuracy. These methods continue to evolve, and cytopathologists should actively adopt the latest methods and information to achieve more accurate diagnoses. We believe this review will be useful to practitioners of routine thyroid cytology.

Review

Breast fine-needle aspiration cytology in the era of core-needle biopsy: what is its role?: Ahrong Kim, Hyun Jung Lee, Jee Yeon Kim; J Pathol Transl Med. 2025;59(1):26-38. Published online January 15, 2025; DOI: https://doi.org/10.4132/jptm.2024.11.01; Correction in: J Pathol Transl Med 2025;59(2):147

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Fine-needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) has long been recognized as a minimally invasive, cost-effective, and reliable diagnostic tool for breast lesions. However, with the advent of core-needle biopsy (CNB), the role of FNAC has diminished in some clinical settings. This review aims to re-evaluate the diagnostic value of FNAC in the current era, focusing on its complementary use alongside CNB, the adoption of new approaches such as the International Academy of Cytology Yokohama System, and the implementation of rapid on-site evaluation to reduce inadequate sample rates. Advances in liquid-based cytology, receptor expression testing, molecular diagnostics, and artificial intelligence are discussed, highlighting their potential to enhance the diagnostic accuracy of FNAC. Despite challenges, FNAC remains a valuable diagnostic method, particularly in low-resource settings and specific clinical scenarios, and its role continues to evolve with technology.

Citations

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Bulk-lysis protocols as a sensitive method for investigation of circulating CK19 cells in the peripheral blood of patients with breast cancer by flow cytometry
Daniella Serafin Couto Vieira, Laura Otto Walter, Maria Eduarda Cunha da Silva, Lisandra de Oliveira Silva, Heloísa Zorzi Costa, Chandra Chiappin Cardoso, Fernando Carlos de Lander Schmitt, Maria Cláudia Santos-Silva
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Original Articles

International Academy of Cytology standardized reporting of breast fine-needle aspiration cytology with cyto-histopathological correlation of breast carcinoma: Shweta Pai; J Pathol Transl Med. 2024;58(5):241-248. Published online September 13, 2024; DOI: https://doi.org/10.4132/jptm.2024.07.14

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Abstract PDF: Background
The International Academy of Cytology (IAC) has developed a standardized approach for reporting the findings of breast fine-needle aspiration cytology (FNAC). Accordingly, there are five chief categories of breast lesions, C1 (insufficient material), C2 (benign), C3 (atypical), C4 (suspicious), and C5 (malignant). The prognostication and management of breast carcinoma can be performed readily on the basis of this classification system. The aim of this study was to classify various breast lesions into one of the above-named categories and to further grade the C5 lesions specifically using the Robinson system. The latter grades were then correlated with modified Scarff-Bloom-Richardson (SBR) grades.
Methods
This retrospective study was undertaken in the pathology department of a hospital located in the urban part of the city of Bangalore. All FNAC procedures performed on breast lumps spanning the year 2020 were included in the study.
Results
A total of 205 breast lesions was classified according to the IAC guidelines into C1 (6 cases, 2.9%), C2 (151 cases, 73.7%), C3 (13 cases, 6.3%), C4 (5 cases, 2.5%), and C5 (30 cases, 14.6%) groups. The C5 cases were further graded using Robinson’s system. The latter showed a significant correlation with the SBR system (concordance=83.3%, Spearman correlation=0.746, Kendall’s tau-b=0.736, kappa=0.661, standard error=0.095, p≤.001).
Conclusions
A standardized approach for FNAC reporting of breast lesions, as advocated for by the IAC, improves the quality and clarity of the reports and assures diagnostic reproducibility on a global scale. Further, the cytological grading of C5 lesions provides reliable cyto-prognostic scores that can help assess a tumor’s aggressiveness and predict its histological grade.

Revisiting the utility of identifying nuclear grooves as unique nuclear changes by an object detector model: Pedro R. F. Rende, Joel Machado Pires, Kátia Sakimi Nakadaira, Sara Lopes, João Vale, Fabio Hecht, Fabyan E. L. Beltrão, Gabriel J. R. Machado, Edna T. Kimura, Catarina Eloy, Helton E. Ramos; J Pathol Transl Med. 2024;58(3):117-126. Published online April 30, 2024; DOI: https://doi.org/10.4132/jptm.2024.03.07

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Abstract PDF: Background
Among other structures, nuclear grooves are vastly found in papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC). Considering that the application of artificial intelligence in thyroid cytology has potential for diagnostic routine, our goal was to develop a new supervised convolutional neural network capable of identifying nuclear grooves in Diff-Quik stained whole-slide images (WSI) obtained from thyroid fineneedle aspiration.
Methods
We selected 22 Diff-Quik stained cytological slides with cytological diagnosis of PTC and concordant histological diagnosis. Each of the slides was scanned, forming a WSI. Images that contained the region of interest were obtained, followed by pre-formatting, annotation of the nuclear grooves and data augmentation techniques. The final dataset was divided into training and validation groups in a 7:3 ratio.
Results
This is the first artificial intelligence model based on object detection applied to nuclear structures in thyroid cytopathology. A total of 7,255 images were obtained from 22 WSI, totaling 7,242 annotated nuclear grooves. The best model was obtained after it was submitted 15 times with the train dataset (14th epoch), with 67% true positives, 49.8% for sensitivity and 43.1% for predictive positive value.
Conclusions
The model was able to develop a structure predictor rule, indicating that the application of an artificial intelligence model based on object detection in the identification of nuclear grooves is feasible. Associated with a reduction in interobserver variability and in time per slide, this demonstrates that nuclear evaluation constitutes one of the possibilities for refining the diagnosis through computational models.

Reviews

The Asian Thyroid Working Group, from 2017 to 2023: Kennichi Kakudo, Chan Kwon Jung, Zhiyan Liu, Mitsuyoshi Hirokawa, Andrey Bychkov, Huy Gia Vuong, Somboon Keelawat, Radhika Srinivasan, Jen-Fan Hang, Chiung-Ru Lai; J Pathol Transl Med. 2023;57(6):289-304. Published online November 14, 2023; DOI: https://doi.org/10.4132/jptm.2023.10.04

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Abstract PDF Supplementary Material

The Asian Thyroid Working Group was founded in 2017 at the 12th Asia Oceania Thyroid Association (AOTA) Congress in Busan, Korea. This group activity aims to characterize Asian thyroid nodule practice and establish strict diagnostic criteria for thyroid carcinomas, a reporting system for thyroid fine needle aspiration cytology without the aid of gene panel tests, and new clinical guidelines appropriate to conservative Asian thyroid nodule practice based on scientific evidence obtained from Asian patient cohorts. Asian thyroid nodule practice is usually designed for patient-centered clinical practice, which is based on the Hippocratic Oath, “First do not harm patients,” and an oriental filial piety “Do not harm one’s own body because it is a precious gift from parents,” which is remote from defensive medical practice in the West where physicians, including pathologists, suffer from severe malpractice climate. Furthermore, Asian practice emphasizes the importance of resource management in navigating the overdiagnosis of low-risk thyroid carcinomas. This article summarizes the Asian Thyroid Working Group activities in the past 7 years, from 2017 to 2023, highlighting the diversity of thyroid nodule practice between Asia and the West and the background reasons why Asian clinicians and pathologists modified Western systems significantly.

Citations

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Kennichi Kakudo, Andrey Bychkov, Jen-Fan Hang, Mitsuyoshi Hirokawa, Somboon Keelawat, Zhiyan Liu, Radhika Srinivasan, Chan Kwon Jung
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Dorota Słowińska-Klencka, Bożena Popowicz, Joanna Duda-Szymańska, Mariusz Klencki
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Response to Kakudo et al.: “High Rates of Unnecessary Surgery for Indeterminate Thyroid Nodules in the Absence of Molecular Test and the Cost-Effectiveness of Utilizing Molecular Test in an Asian Population: A Decision Analysis”
Man Him Matrix Fung, Ching Tang, Gin Wai Kwok, Tin Ho Chan, Yan Luk, David Tak Wai Lui, Carlos King Ho Wong, Brian Hung Hin Lang
Thyroid®.2025; 35(5): 597. CrossRef
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Welcoming the new, revisiting the old: a brief glance at cytopathology reporting systems for lung, pancreas, and thyroid
Rita Luis, Balamurugan Thirunavukkarasu, Deepali Jain, Sule Canberk
Journal of Pathology and Translational Medicine.2024; 58(4): 165. CrossRef
Are we ready to bridge classification systems? A comprehensive review of different reporting systems in thyroid cytology
Esther Diana Rossi, Liron Pantanowitz
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Maria Boudina, Eleana Zisimopoulou, Persefoni Xirou, Alexandra Chrisoulidou
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A stepwise approach to fine needle aspiration cytology of lymph nodes: Yosep Chong, Gyeongsin Park, Hee Jeong Cha, Hyun-Jung Kim, Chang Suk Kang, Jamshid Abdul-Ghafar, Seung-Sook Lee; J Pathol Transl Med. 2023;57(4):196-207. Published online July 11, 2023; DOI: https://doi.org/10.4132/jptm.2023.06.12

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Abstract PDF Supplementary Material

The cytological diagnosis of lymph node lesions is extremely challenging because of the diverse diseases that cause lymph node enlargement, including both benign and malignant or metastatic lymphoid lesions. Furthermore, the cytological findings of different lesions often resemble one another. A stepwise diagnostic approach is essential for a comprehensive diagnosis that combines: clinical findings, including age, sex, site, multiplicity, and ultrasonography findings; low-power reactive, metastatic, and lymphoma patterns; high-power population patterns, including two populations of continuous range, small monotonous pattern and large monotonous pattern; and disease-specific diagnostic clues including granulomas and lymphoglandular granules. It is also important to remember the histological features of each diagnostic category that are common in lymph node cytology and to compare them with cytological findings. It is also essential to identify a few categories of diagnostic pitfalls that often resemble lymphomas and easily lead to misdiagnosis, particularly in malignant small round cell tumors, poorly differentiated squamous cell carcinomas, and nasopharyngeal undifferentiated carcinoma. Herein, we review a stepwise approach for fine needle aspiration cytology of lymphoid diseases and suggest a diagnostic algorithm that uses this approach and the Sydney classification system.

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Noninvasive follicular thyroid neoplasm with papillary-like nuclear features: its updated diagnostic criteria, preoperative cytologic diagnoses and impact on the risk of malignancy: Hee Young Na, So Yeon Park; J Pathol Transl Med. 2022;56(6):319-325. Published online November 9, 2022; DOI: https://doi.org/10.4132/jptm.2022.09.29

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