[Fine-needle aspiration biopsy of the thyroid nodule: uses and limitations]

Thyroid nodules are a common occurrence in the general population, but only a small number of them are eventually diagnosed as cancers. Fine-needle aspiration biopsy (FNAB) is currently safe, the most accurate, and cost-effective method for the presurgical management of thyroid nodules, but there is a difficulty of the differential diagnosis between thyroid follicular adenomas and follicular carcinomas. The use of cellular markers may be useful in distinguishing follicular carcinoma from follicular adenomas. Several markers such as galectin 3 and HBME-1 initially appeared promising, but some discrepant results have been reported for these cellular markers. At the present time, assessing the likelihood of malignancy by examining various clinical parameters is an useful approach for follicular neoplasm.