ReviewCancers2021
Current Status and Challenges of US-Guided Radiofrequency Ablation of Thyroid Nodules in the Long Term: A Systematic Review.
Review in Cancers, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 17 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
17 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 34 citations in OpenAlex.
- Ablative Technologies for Thyroid Nodules: A Health Technology Assessment.Ontario health technology assessment series · 2026Pooled it
- Quality of Life Following Thermal Ablation of Benign Thyroid Nodules: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Thyroid : official journal of the American Thyroid Association · 2025Pooled it
- Comparison of radiofrequency ablation and surgery for thyroid papillary microcarcinoma: efficacy, safety and life quality.Frontiers in endocrinology · 2024Pooled it
- Important parameters should be paid attention in PTMC radiofrequency ablation.Scientific reports · 2023Trial
- Long-Term Outcomes of Radiofrequency Ablation for Benign Thyroid Nodules of Different Sizes: Implications of Regrowth and New Growth.The Kaohsiung journal of medical sciences · 2026Article
- Enhancing Tip Detection by Pre-Training with Synthetic Data for Ultrasound-Guided Intervention.Diagnostics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Ultrasound-Guided Fine-Needle Aspiration Biopsy Of Thyroid Nodules Smaller Than 10 mm in the Maximum Diameter: The Efficacy and Its Correlation with TIRADS Classification.Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention : APJCP · 2025Article
- A 6-year single-center prospective follow-up study of the efficacy of radiofrequency ablation for thyroid nodules.Frontiers in endocrinology · 2024Article
- Article
- Safety and efficacy of microwave ablation for the treatment of low-risk papillary thyroid microcarcinoma: a prospective multicenter study.European radiology · 2023Article
- Transitioning from Traditional Academic Decision Making to Patient-Centric Healthcare Choices: The Example of Thyroid Thermal Ablation Techniques for Papillary Thyroid Microcarcinomas.Current oncology (Toronto, Ont.) · 2023Article
- Percutaneous Radiofrequency Ablation of Thyroid Carcinomas Ineligible for Surgery, in the Elderly.Current oncology (Toronto, Ont.) · 2023Article
- ["Leverage pry-off method" for effective prevention of thermal injury during microwave ablation of benign thyroid nodules].Nan fang yi ke da xue xue bao = Journal of Southern Medical University · 2023Article
- Efficacy and safety of radiofrequency ablation for calcified benign thyroid nodules: results of over 5 years' follow-up.BMC medical imaging · 2022Article
- Advancements in Ultrasound and Ultrasound-Based Risk Stratification Systems for the Assessment of Thyroid Nodule.Cancers · 2022Article
- Performance of Contrast-Enhanced Ultrasound in Thyroid Nodules: Review of Current State and Future Perspectives.Cancers · 2021Review
- The New Era of TIRADSs to Stratify the Risk of Malignancy of Thyroid Nodules: Strengths, Weaknesses and Pitfalls.Cancers · 2021Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundUS-guided minimally-invasive techniques, such as radiofrequency ablation (RFA) have emerged as an alternative treatment for benign and malignant thyroid nodules. This systematic review aims to provide an overview on the long-term outcomes of US-guided RFA in patients with benign and malignant thyroid nodules.
methodsWe systematically searched PubMed/MEDLINE, EMBASE, and Scopus to identify articles reporting the outcomes of thyroid RFA after a follow-up of at least 3 years.
resultsA total of 20 studies met the inclusion criteria and were included in the review. In patients with benign thyroid nodules, RFA significantly reduced nodule volume and this was generally maintained for the following 5 years. However, a small but not negligible proportion of nodules regrew and some of them required further treatments over time. In patients with malignant nodules, RFA has been used not only to treat differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC) neck recurrences, but also to treat papillary thyroid microcarcinoma (PTMC). In most patients with PTMC, RFA led to complete disappearance of the tumor. When it was compared to surgery, RFA was not inferior in terms of oncologic efficacy but it had a lower complication rate. However, RFA did not allow for final pathology, disease staging and accurate risk stratification.
conclusionsUS-guided RFA significantly reduces benign thyroid nodules and destroys most PTMC, and this is generally maintained for at least 5 years after the initial treatment. Further studies addressing the risk of regrowths in patients with benign thyroid nodules, as well as the risk of recurrence in patients with PTMC are needed.
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