Associations between Bethesda categories and tumor characteristics of conventional papillary thyroid carcinoma

The aim of this study was to investigate the associations of Bethesda categories III, V, and VI with the clinical and pathological features of thyroid nodules surgically confirmed as conventional papillary thyroid carcinomas (PTCs).

We analyzed 1,990 consecutive patients diagnosed with conventional PTC at surgery with preoperative Bethesda categories III, V, or VI. We determined the odds ratio (ORs) of the clinical and pathological variables associated with categories III and V, using category VI as the reference.

Category III and V PTCs had a smaller pathological tumor size (OR, 0.934 and OR, 0.969, respectively) and less frequently had central lymph node metastasis (OR, 0.487 and OR, 0.780, respectively) than category VI PTCs. Category III PTCs less frequently showed suspicious ultrasonographic features (OR, 0.296) than category VI PTCs, and category V PTCs less frequently had gross extrathyroidal extension, with borderline significance (OR, 0.643; P=0.059).

Conventional PTCs with a preoperative Bethesda category of III or V may less frequently exhibit poor prognostic factors than those with malignant cytology.