CEUS Improves the Diagnostic Performance of SRSS of Thyroid Carcinoma

March 18, 2026 updated by: Jingliang Ruan, PhD, Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hospital of Sun Yat-Sen University

Contrast-enhanced Ultrasound Improves the Diagnostic Performance of Sonographic Risk Stratification System of Thyroid Carcinoma: Comparison Between Integrated Scoring Method and Up-and-down Scoring Method

Contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) can sensitively show the blood perfusion characteristics of thyroid nodules, which is a useful supplement to gray-scale ultrasound. However, there is no standard combined diagnostic method of gray-scale ultrasound and CEUS. Therefore, the aim of this study was to compare the diagnostic performance of the integrated scoring method and the up-and-down scoring method. This study was a multicenter retrospective clinical study and followed the Standards for Reporting of Diagnostic Accuracy Studies (version 2015). Inclusion criteria: 1) participants with at least one thyroid nodule larger than 5 mm confirmed by conventional ultrasound; 2) participants underwent gray-scale ultrasound, contrast-enhanced ultrasound and fine needle aspiration biopsy of the thyroid nodule successively; 3) participants have a final diagnosis of benign or malignant. Exclusion criteria included: 1) participants with cytologic findings of Bethesda I, III, or IV without definitive benign or malignant pathologic findings; 2) participants with a history of thyroid fine needle aspiration, ablation or surgery; 3) participants with low quality ultrasound images (e.g., severe artifacts or low image resolution). According to the American College of Radiology Thyroid Imaging Reporting and Data System, only one thyroid nodule with the highest point was included in each participant. A total of 600 participants from January 2018 to December 2022 were consecutively included in Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University to form a training set (average age 48 years; Range 24-81 years old). A total of 200 subjects with thyroid nodules from January 2022 to December 2022 were consecutively included to form an external validation set in Houjie Hospital of Dongguan City, Guangdong Province (mean age 46 years; Range 30-74 years). The malignant risk of enrolled thyroid nodules and the necessity of biopsy were evaluated by integrated scoring method and up-and-down scoring method, respectively. The diagnostic performance and unnecessary biopsy rate of the above two methods were calculated and compared.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Recruiting

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Observational

Enrollment (Estimated)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
800

Contacts and Locations

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Study Contact

Study Contact

The name and contact information for the person who can answer enrollment questions for a clinical study. Each location where the study is being conducted may also have a specific contact, who may be better able to answer those questions.

Study Contact Backup

Study Locations

  • China
    • Guangdong
      • Guangzhou, Guangdong, China, 510289
        • Recruiting
        • Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University
        • Contact:
        • Principal Investigator:
          • Jingliang Ruan, PhD

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Sampling Method

Probability Sample

Study Population

We included patients at Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital (the internal validation set) and Houjie Hospital of Dongguan(the external validation set) at the same eligibility criteria described above from January 2021 to December 2022.

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Participants with thyroid nodules with a solid component ≥5 mm confirmed by conventional ultrasound;
  • Participants who underwent conventional ultrasound, contrast-enhanced ultrasound, and fine-needle aspiration biopsy;
  • Participants with a final benign or malignant pathological results.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Participants with cytopathology of Bethesda I, III, or IV and without final benign or malignant pathology；
  • Participants with a history of thyroid ablation or surgery;
  • Participants with low-quality ultrasound images.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Diagnostic performance
Time Frame: First week after primary completion date
Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, area under the curve
First week after primary completion date
Unnecessary biopsy rate
Time Frame: First week after primary completion date
The unnecessary biopsy rate was defined as a percentage of the number of benign nodules among biopsy-indicated nodules in the total nodules.
First week after primary completion date

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hospital of Sun Yat-Sen University

Investigators

Investigators

A researcher involved in a clinical study. Related terms include site principal investigator, site sub-investigator, study chair, study director, and study principal investigator.
  • Study Director: Baoming Luo, Professor, Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hospital of Sun Yat-Sen University
  • Principal Investigator: Jingliang Ruan, Ph.D., Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hospital of Sun Yat-Sen University

Publications and helpful links

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General Publications

Study record dates

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Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
March 18, 2023

Primary Completion (Estimated)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
June 30, 2026

Study Completion (Estimated)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
July 31, 2026

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
November 18, 2023

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
November 24, 2023

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
November 27, 2023

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
March 23, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
March 18, 2026

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
March 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • SYSKY-2023-1024-01

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

YES

IPD Plan Description

Data generated or analyzed during the study are available from the principal investigator by request.

IPD Sharing Time Frame

The first week after the publication of the research papers.

IPD Sharing Access Criteria

Data generated or analyzed during the study are available from the principal investigator by request.

IPD Sharing Supporting Information Type

  • STUDY_PROTOCOL

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

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