Parisha Bhatia - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Parisha Bhatia

Annals of Surgical Oncology, 2015

Secondary thyroid cancer is believed to lead to a more aggressive clinical course than primary th... more Secondary thyroid cancer is believed to lead to a more aggressive clinical course than primary thyroid cancer. We aim to examine the difference between primary and secondary thyroid cancer in terms of patient characteristics and perioperative outcomes at the national level. A cross-sectional study utilizing the Nationwide Inpatient Sample database for 2003-2010 was merged with County Health Rankings Data. International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision (ICD-9) codes were used to identify adult patients with thyroid cancer. A total of 21,581 discharge records were included. Overall, 16,625 (77.0 %) patients had primary cancer, while the rest (23.0 %) had secondary cancer. Younger (<45 years) and older (>65 years) patients, males, and those of White or Hispanic background were more likely to have secondary cancers (p < 0.05 each). The prevalence of secondary cancer was higher in communities of low health risk (24.0 % vs. 21.1 %; p < 0.024). Secondary cancer was more likely to be managed by total thyroidectomy (odds ratio [OR] 2.40, 95 % CI 2.12-2.73) and to require additional radical neck dissection (OR 12.51, 95 % CI 10.98-14.25). Patients with secondary thyroid cancers were at higher risk of postoperative complications (p < 0.01 each). The cost of secondary cancer management was significantly higher than primary cancer (US$12,449.00 ± 302.07 vs. US$7848.12 ± 149.05; p < 0.001). However, compared with intermediate-volume surgeons, the complication risk was lower for high-volume (OR 0.47, 95 % CI 0.24-0.92; p = 0.026). Secondary thyroid cancer is associated with a higher risk of perioperative complications and higher cost and distinct demographic profile. Patients managed by higher-volume surgeons were less likely to experience disadvantageous outcomes.

Journal of the American College of Surgeons, 2014

JAMA Otolaryngology–Head & Neck Surgery, 2015

Reoperation for recurrent papillary thyroid cancer (PTC) can be associated with a high rate of co... more Reoperation for recurrent papillary thyroid cancer (PTC) can be associated with a high rate of complications and failure to provide lasting remission. Percutaneous ethanol injection (PEI) may be an effective nonsurgical management option for locally recurrent PTC. This systematic analysis of the current literature compares the efficacy and complications related to PEI vs reoperative surgical intervention for treatment of locally recurrent PTC. Original studies were identified using the keywords "thyroid/ethanol" and "recurrent thyroid cancer/repeat surgery." Studies evaluating reoperation or PEI for lymph node metastases in patients with primary surgery of total thyroidectomy with appropriate lymph node dissection where indicated were included in the analysis for both reoperation and PEI. Animal studies, single case reports, and studies with fewer than 10 lesions were excluded. Outcomes included interval to detection of recurrence, success and failure rates, recurrence rates, complication rates, and follow-up duration. Between-group outcome differences were calculated using random-effects models, and pooled data cross-tabulation and logistic regression analysis were used. In all, 945 publications were identified, and 27 studies met the inclusion criteria. There were no studies that directly compared the 2 treatment techniques. A total of 1617 patients were included in this analysis; 168 (11.4%) were treated with PEI, and 1449 (88.6%) were treated with reoperation. Reoperation was successful in 94.8% of cases compared with an 87.5% success rate for PEI (odds ratio [OR], 2.58; 95% CI, 1.55-4.31; P < .001). The recurrence rates for PEI and reoperation at the site of the treated lesion or elsewhere in the neck were also similar (OR, 1.07; 95% CI, 0.65-1.77; P = .78). Reoperation was associated with a 3.5% pooled risk of complications, while PEI incurred a pooled risk of 1.2% (OR, 2.9; 95% CI, 0.72-12.3; P = .08). However, most studies did not report routine preoperative and postoperative laryngoscopies, an evaluation needed for accurate neural complication analysis associated with each procedure. High-quality, well-designed studies are needed to evaluate the feasibility of incorporating PEI into the treatment protocol of PTC. Although presently inferior to reoperation, PEI has the potential to be a widely accepted and effective nonsurgical treatment option for limited recurrent PTC in poor surgical candidates or patients seeking to avoid multiple reoperations.

Gland surgery, 2015

Robot assisted thyroid surgery has been the latest advance in the evolution of thyroid surgery af... more Robot assisted thyroid surgery has been the latest advance in the evolution of thyroid surgery after endoscopy assisted procedures. The advantage of a superior field vision and technical advancements of robotic technology have permitted novel remote access (trans-axillary and retro-auricular) surgical approaches. Interestingly, several remote access surgical ports using robot surgical system and endoscopic technique have been customized to avoid the social stigma of a visible scar. Current literature has displayed their various advantages in terms of post-operative outcomes; however, the associated financial burden and also additional training and expertise necessary hinder its widespread adoption into endocrine surgery practices. These approaches offer excellent cosmesis, with a shorter learning curve and reduce discomfort to surgeons operating ergonomically through a robotic console. This review aims to provide details of various remote access techniques that are being offered for...

Gland surgery, 2015

Current advancement in robotic surgery has provided a safe, precise, 3-dimensional (3D) magnified... more Current advancement in robotic surgery has provided a safe, precise, 3-dimensional (3D) magnified dissection for parathyroid surgery without the need for CO2 insufflation, and with a better cosmetic outcome due to an invisible scar in the axillary or retroauricular region. Preoperative imaging studies that assist in the localization of lesions have been key elements in patients' selection for targeted parathyroid surgery.

BioMed Research International, 2015

Background. BRAF V600E mutation is associated with poor prognosis in patients with papillary thyr... more Background. BRAF V600E mutation is associated with poor prognosis in patients with papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC). PTC is often multifocal, and there are no guidelines on how many tumors to test for BRAF mutation in multifocal PTC. Methods. Fifty-seven separate formalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded PTCs from twenty-seven patients were manually macrodissected and tested for BRAF mutation using a commercial allele-specific real-time polymerase chain reaction-based assay (Entrogen, Woodland Hills, CA). Data related to histologic characteristics, patient demographics, and clinical outcomes were collected. Results. All mutations detected were BRAF V600E. Seventeen patients (63%) had concordant mutation status in the largest and second-largest tumors (i.e., both were positive or both were negative). The remaining ten patients (37%) had discordant mutation status. Six of the patients with discordant tumors (22% overall) had a BRAF-negative largest tumor and a BRAF-positive second-largest tumor. No histologic feature was found to help predict which cases would be discordant. Conclusions. Patients with multifocal PTC whose largest tumor is BRAF-negative can have smaller tumors that are BRAF-positive. Therefore, molecular testing of more than just the dominant tumor should be considered. Future studies are warranted to establish whether finding a BRAF mutation in a smaller tumor has clinical significance.

Introduction: Fine needle aspiration cytology (FNA) of thyroid nodules can lead to changes that e... more Introduction: Fine needle aspiration cytology (FNA) of thyroid nodules can lead to changes that extensively replace cytologically confirmed thyroid lesions. These replaced thyroid lesions are called vanishing tumors, and can be challenging to pathologists, endocrinologists and surgeons, rendering the final pathological diagnosis difficult to interpret. We performed a retrospective analysis focusing on the issues that tend to compromise management plans for these vanishing tumors. Study Design: Retrospective review Methods: Data of 609 patients referred to our institution for thyroid surgery were reviewed. Patients with suspicious lesions on neck ultrasound underwent FNA biopsy. We compared FNA cytological and surgical pathological findings to identify patients with vanishing tumors. FNA-induced reactive changes such as cystic degeneration, hemorrhage, calcification, cholesterol crystals, fibrosis and granulation tissue were identified. Results: Seventeen patients (2.7%) were identif...

Future Oncology, 2015

The pre-operative diagnosis of thyroid tumors is determined by gold standard fine needle aspirati... more The pre-operative diagnosis of thyroid tumors is determined by gold standard fine needle aspiration (FNA) biopsy. This has been widely accepted and offers the most cost-effective approach for evaluation of thyroid nodules. However, its diagnostic accuracy can pose a challenging scenario to surgeons. These diagnostic difficulties may subject patients to unnecessary thyroidectomies for benign thyroid nodules. Thus, additional molecular tests are needed to improve the sensitivity and specificity of FNA. The role of molecular markers is being proposed to predict the type and risk of malignancy to abate the need for diagnostic thyroidectomies. This review discusses their utility and validity in pre-operative diagnosis of thyroid nodules and how these markers can enhance the accuracy of FNA cytology.

Thyroid nodules are among the most common endocrine complaints in the United States. With increas... more Thyroid nodules are among the most common endocrine complaints in the United States. With increasing incidence of differentiated thyroid carcinoma there has been a widespread interest in development of minimally invasive treatments such as percutaneous ethanol injection (PEI) to manage thyroid pathology. In our review of published literatures, we discuss the application of ethanol injection for treatment of benign thyroid nodules and its efficacy in treating locally recurrent papillary thyroid carcinoma.

World journal of experimental medicine, Jan 20, 2015

Recurrent laryngeal nerve (RLN) injury is one of the most common complications of thyroid surgery... more Recurrent laryngeal nerve (RLN) injury is one of the most common complications of thyroid surgery. Injury to the external branch of the superior laryngeal nerve is less obvious and affects the voice variably; however, it can be of great significance to professional voice users. Recent literature has led to an increase in the use of neuromonitoring as an adjunct to visual nerve identification during thyroid surgery. In our review of the literature, we discuss the application, efficacy and safety of neuromonitoring in thyroid surgery. Although intraoperative neuromonitoring (IONM) contributes to the prevention of laryngeal nerves injury, there was no significant difference in the incidence of RLN injury in thyroid surgery when IONM was used compared with visual identification alone. IONM use is recommended in high risk patients; however, there are no clear identification criteria for what constitutes "high risk". There is no clear evidence that IONM decreases the risk of lar...

Annals of translational medicine, 2015

This review is intended to provide an updated role of molecular genetics and various targeted the... more This review is intended to provide an updated role of molecular genetics and various targeted therapies that have been developed to treat advanced stages of melanoma. Because of the declining success in melanoma therapy, the curative treatment for advanced stage melanoma has been a challenge for clinicians. Several mutations such as N-RAS, p53, BRAF including mutant-BRAF that lead to activation of kinase pathway, are implicated in the development of malignant melanoma. However, the current literature depicts that the prognostic role of BRAF mutation in disease progression is still controversial. While its higher level in advanced stage disease is associated with decreased overall survival (OS), some studies show that it failed to confer as an independent prognostic predictor of the disease. This has also led researchers to accomplish newer therapeutic strategies that lead to improved disease-response and grant survival benefits. Vemurafenib, a BRAF inhibitor agent, is one of the few...

Case Reports in Transplantation, 2014

Cutaneous metastasis from hepatobiliary tumors is a rare event, especially following liver transp... more Cutaneous metastasis from hepatobiliary tumors is a rare event, especially following liver transplantation. We report our experience with two cases of cutaneous metastases from both hepatocellular carcinoma and mixed hepatocellular/cholangiocarcinoma following liver transplantation, along with a review of the literature.

World Journal of Stem Cells, 2014

Currently, thyroid cancer is one of the most common endocrine cancer in the United States. A rece... more Currently, thyroid cancer is one of the most common endocrine cancer in the United States. A recent involvement of sub-population of stem cells, cancer stem cells, has been proposed in different histological types of thyroid cancer. Because of their ability of self-renewal and differentiation into various specialized cells in the body, these putative cells drive tumor genesis, metastatic activity and are responsible to provide chemo-and radioresistant nature to the cancer cells in the thyroid gland. Our Review was conducted from previously published literature to provide latest apprises to investigate the role of embryonic, somatic and cancer stem cells, and discusses the hypothesis of epithelial-mesenchymal transition. Different methods for their identification and isolation through stemness markers using various in vivo and in vitro methods such as flow cytometry, thyrosphere formation assay, aldehyde dehydrogenase activity and ATP-binding cassette sub-family G member 2 efflux-pump mediated Hoechst 33342 dye exclusion have been discussed. The review also outlines various setbacks that still remain to target these tumor initiating cells. Future perspectives of therapeutic strategies and their potential to treat advanced stages of thyroid cancer are also disclosed in this review.

Anticancer research, 2015

Fine needle aspiration (FNA) cytology, being the mainstay to diagnose thyroid nodules, does not p... more Fine needle aspiration (FNA) cytology, being the mainstay to diagnose thyroid nodules, does not provide definitive results in a subset of patients. The use of molecular markers testing has been described as a useful aid in differentiation of thyroid nodules that present with an indeterminate cytodiagnosis. Molecular tests, such as the Afirma gene classifier, mutational assay and immunohistochemical markers have been increasingly used to further increase the accuracy and defer unnecessary surgeries for benign thyroid nodules. However, in light of the current literature, their emerging roles in clinical practice are limited due to financial and technical limitations. Nevertheless, their synergistic implementation can predict the risk of malignancy and yield an accurate diagnosis. This review discusses the clinical utility of various molecular tests done on FNA indeterminate nodules to avoid diagnostic thyroidectomies and warrant the need of future multi-Institutional studies.

Annals of Surgical Oncology, 2015

Secondary thyroid cancer is believed to lead to a more aggressive clinical course than primary th... more Secondary thyroid cancer is believed to lead to a more aggressive clinical course than primary thyroid cancer. We aim to examine the difference between primary and secondary thyroid cancer in terms of patient characteristics and perioperative outcomes at the national level. A cross-sectional study utilizing the Nationwide Inpatient Sample database for 2003-2010 was merged with County Health Rankings Data. International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision (ICD-9) codes were used to identify adult patients with thyroid cancer. A total of 21,581 discharge records were included. Overall, 16,625 (77.0 %) patients had primary cancer, while the rest (23.0 %) had secondary cancer. Younger (<45 years) and older (>65 years) patients, males, and those of White or Hispanic background were more likely to have secondary cancers (p < 0.05 each). The prevalence of secondary cancer was higher in communities of low health risk (24.0 % vs. 21.1 %; p < 0.024). Secondary cancer was more likely to be managed by total thyroidectomy (odds ratio [OR] 2.40, 95 % CI 2.12-2.73) and to require additional radical neck dissection (OR 12.51, 95 % CI 10.98-14.25). Patients with secondary thyroid cancers were at higher risk of postoperative complications (p < 0.01 each). The cost of secondary cancer management was significantly higher than primary cancer (US$12,449.00 ± 302.07 vs. US$7848.12 ± 149.05; p < 0.001). However, compared with intermediate-volume surgeons, the complication risk was lower for high-volume (OR 0.47, 95 % CI 0.24-0.92; p = 0.026). Secondary thyroid cancer is associated with a higher risk of perioperative complications and higher cost and distinct demographic profile. Patients managed by higher-volume surgeons were less likely to experience disadvantageous outcomes.

Journal of the American College of Surgeons, 2014

JAMA Otolaryngology–Head & Neck Surgery, 2015

Reoperation for recurrent papillary thyroid cancer (PTC) can be associated with a high rate of co... more Reoperation for recurrent papillary thyroid cancer (PTC) can be associated with a high rate of complications and failure to provide lasting remission. Percutaneous ethanol injection (PEI) may be an effective nonsurgical management option for locally recurrent PTC. This systematic analysis of the current literature compares the efficacy and complications related to PEI vs reoperative surgical intervention for treatment of locally recurrent PTC. Original studies were identified using the keywords "thyroid/ethanol" and "recurrent thyroid cancer/repeat surgery." Studies evaluating reoperation or PEI for lymph node metastases in patients with primary surgery of total thyroidectomy with appropriate lymph node dissection where indicated were included in the analysis for both reoperation and PEI. Animal studies, single case reports, and studies with fewer than 10 lesions were excluded. Outcomes included interval to detection of recurrence, success and failure rates, recurrence rates, complication rates, and follow-up duration. Between-group outcome differences were calculated using random-effects models, and pooled data cross-tabulation and logistic regression analysis were used. In all, 945 publications were identified, and 27 studies met the inclusion criteria. There were no studies that directly compared the 2 treatment techniques. A total of 1617 patients were included in this analysis; 168 (11.4%) were treated with PEI, and 1449 (88.6%) were treated with reoperation. Reoperation was successful in 94.8% of cases compared with an 87.5% success rate for PEI (odds ratio [OR], 2.58; 95% CI, 1.55-4.31; P < .001). The recurrence rates for PEI and reoperation at the site of the treated lesion or elsewhere in the neck were also similar (OR, 1.07; 95% CI, 0.65-1.77; P = .78). Reoperation was associated with a 3.5% pooled risk of complications, while PEI incurred a pooled risk of 1.2% (OR, 2.9; 95% CI, 0.72-12.3; P = .08). However, most studies did not report routine preoperative and postoperative laryngoscopies, an evaluation needed for accurate neural complication analysis associated with each procedure. High-quality, well-designed studies are needed to evaluate the feasibility of incorporating PEI into the treatment protocol of PTC. Although presently inferior to reoperation, PEI has the potential to be a widely accepted and effective nonsurgical treatment option for limited recurrent PTC in poor surgical candidates or patients seeking to avoid multiple reoperations.

Gland surgery, 2015

Robot assisted thyroid surgery has been the latest advance in the evolution of thyroid surgery af... more Robot assisted thyroid surgery has been the latest advance in the evolution of thyroid surgery after endoscopy assisted procedures. The advantage of a superior field vision and technical advancements of robotic technology have permitted novel remote access (trans-axillary and retro-auricular) surgical approaches. Interestingly, several remote access surgical ports using robot surgical system and endoscopic technique have been customized to avoid the social stigma of a visible scar. Current literature has displayed their various advantages in terms of post-operative outcomes; however, the associated financial burden and also additional training and expertise necessary hinder its widespread adoption into endocrine surgery practices. These approaches offer excellent cosmesis, with a shorter learning curve and reduce discomfort to surgeons operating ergonomically through a robotic console. This review aims to provide details of various remote access techniques that are being offered for...

Gland surgery, 2015

Current advancement in robotic surgery has provided a safe, precise, 3-dimensional (3D) magnified... more Current advancement in robotic surgery has provided a safe, precise, 3-dimensional (3D) magnified dissection for parathyroid surgery without the need for CO2 insufflation, and with a better cosmetic outcome due to an invisible scar in the axillary or retroauricular region. Preoperative imaging studies that assist in the localization of lesions have been key elements in patients' selection for targeted parathyroid surgery.

BioMed Research International, 2015

Background. BRAF V600E mutation is associated with poor prognosis in patients with papillary thyr... more Background. BRAF V600E mutation is associated with poor prognosis in patients with papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC). PTC is often multifocal, and there are no guidelines on how many tumors to test for BRAF mutation in multifocal PTC. Methods. Fifty-seven separate formalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded PTCs from twenty-seven patients were manually macrodissected and tested for BRAF mutation using a commercial allele-specific real-time polymerase chain reaction-based assay (Entrogen, Woodland Hills, CA). Data related to histologic characteristics, patient demographics, and clinical outcomes were collected. Results. All mutations detected were BRAF V600E. Seventeen patients (63%) had concordant mutation status in the largest and second-largest tumors (i.e., both were positive or both were negative). The remaining ten patients (37%) had discordant mutation status. Six of the patients with discordant tumors (22% overall) had a BRAF-negative largest tumor and a BRAF-positive second-largest tumor. No histologic feature was found to help predict which cases would be discordant. Conclusions. Patients with multifocal PTC whose largest tumor is BRAF-negative can have smaller tumors that are BRAF-positive. Therefore, molecular testing of more than just the dominant tumor should be considered. Future studies are warranted to establish whether finding a BRAF mutation in a smaller tumor has clinical significance.

Introduction: Fine needle aspiration cytology (FNA) of thyroid nodules can lead to changes that e... more Introduction: Fine needle aspiration cytology (FNA) of thyroid nodules can lead to changes that extensively replace cytologically confirmed thyroid lesions. These replaced thyroid lesions are called vanishing tumors, and can be challenging to pathologists, endocrinologists and surgeons, rendering the final pathological diagnosis difficult to interpret. We performed a retrospective analysis focusing on the issues that tend to compromise management plans for these vanishing tumors. Study Design: Retrospective review Methods: Data of 609 patients referred to our institution for thyroid surgery were reviewed. Patients with suspicious lesions on neck ultrasound underwent FNA biopsy. We compared FNA cytological and surgical pathological findings to identify patients with vanishing tumors. FNA-induced reactive changes such as cystic degeneration, hemorrhage, calcification, cholesterol crystals, fibrosis and granulation tissue were identified. Results: Seventeen patients (2.7%) were identif...

Future Oncology, 2015

The pre-operative diagnosis of thyroid tumors is determined by gold standard fine needle aspirati... more The pre-operative diagnosis of thyroid tumors is determined by gold standard fine needle aspiration (FNA) biopsy. This has been widely accepted and offers the most cost-effective approach for evaluation of thyroid nodules. However, its diagnostic accuracy can pose a challenging scenario to surgeons. These diagnostic difficulties may subject patients to unnecessary thyroidectomies for benign thyroid nodules. Thus, additional molecular tests are needed to improve the sensitivity and specificity of FNA. The role of molecular markers is being proposed to predict the type and risk of malignancy to abate the need for diagnostic thyroidectomies. This review discusses their utility and validity in pre-operative diagnosis of thyroid nodules and how these markers can enhance the accuracy of FNA cytology.

Thyroid nodules are among the most common endocrine complaints in the United States. With increas... more Thyroid nodules are among the most common endocrine complaints in the United States. With increasing incidence of differentiated thyroid carcinoma there has been a widespread interest in development of minimally invasive treatments such as percutaneous ethanol injection (PEI) to manage thyroid pathology. In our review of published literatures, we discuss the application of ethanol injection for treatment of benign thyroid nodules and its efficacy in treating locally recurrent papillary thyroid carcinoma.

World journal of experimental medicine, Jan 20, 2015

Recurrent laryngeal nerve (RLN) injury is one of the most common complications of thyroid surgery... more Recurrent laryngeal nerve (RLN) injury is one of the most common complications of thyroid surgery. Injury to the external branch of the superior laryngeal nerve is less obvious and affects the voice variably; however, it can be of great significance to professional voice users. Recent literature has led to an increase in the use of neuromonitoring as an adjunct to visual nerve identification during thyroid surgery. In our review of the literature, we discuss the application, efficacy and safety of neuromonitoring in thyroid surgery. Although intraoperative neuromonitoring (IONM) contributes to the prevention of laryngeal nerves injury, there was no significant difference in the incidence of RLN injury in thyroid surgery when IONM was used compared with visual identification alone. IONM use is recommended in high risk patients; however, there are no clear identification criteria for what constitutes "high risk". There is no clear evidence that IONM decreases the risk of lar...

Annals of translational medicine, 2015

This review is intended to provide an updated role of molecular genetics and various targeted the... more This review is intended to provide an updated role of molecular genetics and various targeted therapies that have been developed to treat advanced stages of melanoma. Because of the declining success in melanoma therapy, the curative treatment for advanced stage melanoma has been a challenge for clinicians. Several mutations such as N-RAS, p53, BRAF including mutant-BRAF that lead to activation of kinase pathway, are implicated in the development of malignant melanoma. However, the current literature depicts that the prognostic role of BRAF mutation in disease progression is still controversial. While its higher level in advanced stage disease is associated with decreased overall survival (OS), some studies show that it failed to confer as an independent prognostic predictor of the disease. This has also led researchers to accomplish newer therapeutic strategies that lead to improved disease-response and grant survival benefits. Vemurafenib, a BRAF inhibitor agent, is one of the few...

Case Reports in Transplantation, 2014

Cutaneous metastasis from hepatobiliary tumors is a rare event, especially following liver transp... more Cutaneous metastasis from hepatobiliary tumors is a rare event, especially following liver transplantation. We report our experience with two cases of cutaneous metastases from both hepatocellular carcinoma and mixed hepatocellular/cholangiocarcinoma following liver transplantation, along with a review of the literature.

World Journal of Stem Cells, 2014

Currently, thyroid cancer is one of the most common endocrine cancer in the United States. A rece... more Currently, thyroid cancer is one of the most common endocrine cancer in the United States. A recent involvement of sub-population of stem cells, cancer stem cells, has been proposed in different histological types of thyroid cancer. Because of their ability of self-renewal and differentiation into various specialized cells in the body, these putative cells drive tumor genesis, metastatic activity and are responsible to provide chemo-and radioresistant nature to the cancer cells in the thyroid gland. Our Review was conducted from previously published literature to provide latest apprises to investigate the role of embryonic, somatic and cancer stem cells, and discusses the hypothesis of epithelial-mesenchymal transition. Different methods for their identification and isolation through stemness markers using various in vivo and in vitro methods such as flow cytometry, thyrosphere formation assay, aldehyde dehydrogenase activity and ATP-binding cassette sub-family G member 2 efflux-pump mediated Hoechst 33342 dye exclusion have been discussed. The review also outlines various setbacks that still remain to target these tumor initiating cells. Future perspectives of therapeutic strategies and their potential to treat advanced stages of thyroid cancer are also disclosed in this review.

Anticancer research, 2015

Fine needle aspiration (FNA) cytology, being the mainstay to diagnose thyroid nodules, does not p... more Fine needle aspiration (FNA) cytology, being the mainstay to diagnose thyroid nodules, does not provide definitive results in a subset of patients. The use of molecular markers testing has been described as a useful aid in differentiation of thyroid nodules that present with an indeterminate cytodiagnosis. Molecular tests, such as the Afirma gene classifier, mutational assay and immunohistochemical markers have been increasingly used to further increase the accuracy and defer unnecessary surgeries for benign thyroid nodules. However, in light of the current literature, their emerging roles in clinical practice are limited due to financial and technical limitations. Nevertheless, their synergistic implementation can predict the risk of malignancy and yield an accurate diagnosis. This review discusses the clinical utility of various molecular tests done on FNA indeterminate nodules to avoid diagnostic thyroidectomies and warrant the need of future multi-Institutional studies.