Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39042304›Full record

ArticleEuropean radiology2025

Effectiveness of microvascular flow imaging for radiofrequency ablation in recurrent thyroid cancer: comparison with power Doppler imaging.

Pae Sun Suh, Jung Hwan Baek, Jae Ho Lee, Sae Rom Chung, Young Jun Choi, Ki-Wook Chung, Tae Yong Kim, Jeong Hyun Lee

Abstract readComparative Study
PubMed Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in European radiology, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
6citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

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.

2 · The registry

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.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

6 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. Guideline
  2. Differentiation of Benign and Malignant Cervical Lymph Nodes Using a Multi-Modal Ultrasound-Based Machine Learning Model With SHAP Interpretability.Journal of ultrasound in medicine : official journal of the American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine · 2026
    Review
  3. Article
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors.

Pae Sun SuhDepartment of Radiology and Research Institute of Radiology, Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
Jung Hwan BaekDepartment of Radiology and Research Institute of Radiology, Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea. radbaek@naver.com.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0480-4754
Jae Ho LeeDepartment of Radiology and Research Institute of Radiology, Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
Sae Rom ChungDepartment of Radiology and Research Institute of Radiology, Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
Young Jun ChoiDepartment of Radiology and Research Institute of Radiology, Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
Ki-Wook ChungDepartment of Surgery, Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
Tae Yong KimDivision of Endocrinology & Metabolism, Department of Internal Medicine, Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
Jeong Hyun LeeDepartment of Radiology and Research Institute of Radiology, Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectivesTo compare microvascular flow imaging (MVFI) and power Doppler ultrasonography imaging (PDUS) for detecting intratumoral vascularity in recurrent thyroid cancer both before and after radiofrequency ablation (RFA).

methodsThis retrospective study included 80 patients (age, 57 ± 12 years; 54 women) with 110 recurrent tumors who underwent RFA between January 2021 and June 2023. A total of 151 PDUS and MVFI image sets were analyzed (85 pre-RFA, 66 post-RFA). Two readers assessed vascularity on the images using a four-point scale with a 2-week interval between PDUS and MVFI to estimate inter-reader agreement. Intra-reader agreement was determined by reinterpreting images in reverse order (MVFI-PDUS) after a 1-month gap. Additionally, diagnostic performance for identifying viable tumors after RFA was assessed in 44 lesions using thyroid-protocol CT as a reference standard.

resultsMVFI demonstrated higher vascular grades than PDUS, both before (reader 1: 3.04 ± 1.15 vs. 1.93 ± 1.07, p < 0.001; reader 2: 3.20 ± 0.96 vs. 2.12 ± 1.07, p < 0.001) and after RFA (reader 1: 2.44 ± 1.28 vs. 1.67 ± 1.06, p < 0.001; reader 2: 2.62 ± 1.23 vs. 1.83 ± 0.99, p < 0.001). Inter-reader agreement was substantial (κ = 0.743) and intra-reader agreement was almost perfect (κ = 0.840). MVFI showed higher sensitivity (81.5%-88.9%) and accuracy (84.1%-86.4%) than PDUS (sensitivity: 51.9%, p < 0.01; accuracy: 63.6-70.5%, p < 0.04), without sacrificing specificity.

conclusionMVFI was superior to PDUS for assessing intratumoral vascularity and showed good inter- and intra-reader agreement, highlighting its clinical value for assessing pre-RFA vascularity and accurately identifying post-RFA viable tumors in recurrent thyroid cancer. CLINICAL RELEVANCE STATEMENT: Microvascular flow imaging (MVFI) is superior to power-Doppler US for assessing intratumoral vascularity; therefore, MVFI can be a valuable tool for assessing vascularity before radiofrequency ablation (RFA) and for identifying viable tumors after RFA in patients with recurrent thyroid cancer. KEY POINTS: The value of microvascular flow imaging (MVFI) for evaluating intratumoral vascularity is unexplored. MVFI demonstrated higher vascular grades than power Doppler US before and after ablation. Microvascular flow imaging showed higher sensitivity and accuracy than power Doppler US without sacrificing specificity.

Indexed as

MicrovesselsNeoplasm Recurrence, LocalRadiofrequency AblationThyroid NeoplasmsUltrasonography, DopplerAdultAgedFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedRetrospective StudiesRadiofrequency ablationThyroid cancerUltrasonography

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.