Radiofrequency Ablation of Benign Thyroid Nodules: 10-Year Follow-Up Results From a Single Center
Jae Ho Shin, Minkook Seo, Min Kyoung Lee, So Lyung Jung
Abstract
Objective:The long-term efficacy of radiofrequency ablation (RFA) for the treatment of benign thyroid nodules remains unclear.We aimed to evaluate the long-term efficacy, emphasizing single-session RFA, and identify the factors associated with cases requiring additional RFA sessions to achieve a comparable volume reduction rates (VRR).Materials and Methods: We retrospectively evaluated benign thyroid nodules treated with RFA between 2008 and 2018.Treatment efficacy at the 5-and 10-year follow-ups was analyzed.Additionally, subgroup analysis comparing technique efficacy, such as the final VRR, between the single-and multi-session RFA groups was performed.Continuous variables were analyzed using the two-sample t-test or Mann-Whitney U test, and categorical variables were analyzed using the Chi-square or Fisher's exact test.Results: A total of 267 nodules from 237 patients (age: 46.3 15.0 years; female: 210/237 [88.6%]) were included.Of these, 60 were analyzed for the 5-year follow-up (mean follow-up duration standard deviation: 5.8 0.4 years) and 29 for the 10year follow-up (10.9 0.9 years).Single-session RFA showed a median VRR of 95.7% (5th year) and 98.8% (10th year), while multi-session RFA showed comparable median VRRs of 97.4% (5th year) and 96.9% (10th year).The vascularity type, demographic factors, nodular components, and locations did not significantly differ between the single-session and multisession RFA groups.However, nodules with pre-RFA volume <10 mL were more prevalent in the single-session RFA group than in the multi-session RFA group (5th year: 64.3% [18/28] vs. 34.4% [11/32], P = 0.040; 10th year: 75.0%[12/16] vs. 23.1% [3/13], P = 0.016).Conclusion: Single-session RFA may be sufficient for achieving adequate volume reduction during long-term follow-up for small-volume benign thyroid nodules.A high VRR was maintained regardless of the nodular component, location, demographic factors, or vascularity type.However, large-volume nodules may require multiple RFA sessions to achieve a comparable VRR.