Predicting Nodal Metastases in Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma Using Artificial Intelligence

Authors

Antoinette R. Esce, Department of Surgery, Division of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, MSC10 5610, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, 87131, USA. Electronic address: AEsce@salud.unm.edu
Jordan P. Redemann, Department of Pathology, MSC08 4640, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, 87131, USA
Andrew C. Sanchez, Department of Pathology, MSC08 4640, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, 87131, USA
Garth T. Olson, Department of Surgery, Division of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, MSC10 5610, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, 87131, USA
Joshua A. Hanson, Department of Pathology, MSC08 4640, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, 87131, USA
Shweta Agarwal, Department of Pathology, MSC08 4640, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, 87131, USA
Nathan H. Boyd, Department of Surgery, Division of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, MSC10 5610, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, 87131, USA
David R. Martin, Department of Pathology, MSC08 4640, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, 87131, USA

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

11-1-2021

Abstract

BACKGROUND: The presence of nodal metastases is important in the treatment of papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC). We present our experience using a convolutional neural network (CNN) to predict the presence of nodal metastases in a series of PTC patients using visual histopathology from the primary tumor alone.

METHODS: 174 cases of PTC were evaluated for the presence or absence of lymph metastases. The artificial intelligence (AI) algorithm was trained and tested on its ability to discern between the two groups.

RESULTS: The best performing AI algorithm demonstrated a sensitivity and specificity of 94% and 100%, respectively, when identifying nodal metastases.

CONCLUSION: A CNN can be used to accurately predict the likelihood of nodal metastases in PTC using visual data from the primary tumor alone.

Recommended Citation

Esce AR, Redemann JP, Sanchez AC, Olson GT, Hanson JA, Agarwal S, Boyd NH, Martin DR. Predicting nodal metastases in papillary thyroid carcinoma using artificial intelligence. Am J Surg. 2021 Nov;222(5):952-958. doi: 10.1016/j.amjsurg.2021.05.002. Epub 2021 May 13. PMID: 34030870.