Table 1 Clinical and ultrasound characteristics in the training and validation cohorts
Characteristic | Training (n = 219) | Validation (n = 93) | P value |
|---|---|---|---|
Sex | 0.707 | ||
Male | 43 (19.6) | 20 (21.5) | |
Female | 176 (80.4) | 73 (78.5) | |
Age (years) | 0.795 | ||
Mean ± SD | 40.33 ± 11.16 | 39.98 ± 10.77 | |
Range | 18–69 | 18–64 | |
Tumor size, median (IQR) | 10 (8–16) | 12 (7–23) | 0.111 |
Primary site | 0.289 | ||
Right | 117 (53.4) | 45 (48.4) | |
Left | 96 (43.8) | 42 (45.2) | |
Isthmus | 6 (2.7) | 6 (6.5) | |
Pathology | 0.845 | ||
Benign | 66 (30.1) | 27 (29.0) | |
Malignant | 153 (69.9) | 66 (71.0) | |
Composition | 0.024 | ||
Mixed cystic and solid | 22 (10.0) | 18 (19.4) | |
Solid or almost completely solid | 197 (90.0) | 75 (80.6) | |
Echogenicity | 0.234 | ||
Hyperechoic or isoechoic | 4 (1.8) | 0 (0.0) | |
Hypoechoic | 212 (96.8) | 92 (98.9) | |
Very hypoechoic | 3 (1.4) | 1 (1.1) | |
Shape | 0.087 | ||
Wider-than-tall | 104 (47.5) | 54 (58.1) | |
Taller-than-wide | 115 (52.5) | 39 (41.9) | |
Margin | 0.173 | ||
Smooth or ill-defined | 39 (17.8) | 10 (10.8) | |
Lobulated or irregular | 177 (80.8) | 80 (86.0) | |
Extra-thyroidal extension | 3 (1.4) | 3 (3.2) | |
Echogenic foci | 0.245 | ||
None or large comet-tail artifacts | 77 (35.2) | 30 (32.3) | |
Macrocalcifications | 20 (9.1) | 4 (4.3) | |
Punctate echogenic foci | 123 (55.7) | 59 (63.4) | |
TI-RADS risk level | 0.604 | ||
TR4 | 46 (21.0) | 22 (23.7) | |
TR5 | 173 (79.0) | 71 (76.3) | |
Enhancement direction | 0.724 | ||
Scattered | 57 (26.0) | 26 (28.0) | |
Centripetal or centrifugal | 162 (74.0) | 67 (72.0) | |
Enhancement pattern | 0.201 | ||
Homogeneous | 44 (20.1) | 13 (14.0) | |
Heterogeneous | 175 (79.9) | 80 (86.0) | |
Peak intensity | 0.955 | ||
None- or iso-enhancement | 43 (19.6) | 18 (19.4) | |
Hypo- or Hyper-enhancement | 176 (80.4) | 75 (80.6) | |
Ring enhancement | 0.106 | ||
Absent | 192 (87.7) | 75 (80.6) | |
Present | 27 (12.3) | 18 (19.4) | |
BMUS Rad-score, median (IQR) | 0.93 (0.56–1.26) | 0.90 (0.49–1.24) | 0.715 |
CEUS Rad-score, median (IQR) | 1.05 (0.60–1.34) | 1.03 (0.50–1.34) | 0.624 |