Research Article
Malignancy Risk Assessment in Patients with Thyroid Nodules Using Classification and Regression Trees
Table 1
Descriptive characteristics of 271 patients referred for thyroid nodule evaluation between 2006 and 2011.
| | | Benign | Malignant | P value | Total |
| | Age (years) | | | 0.008 | | | <30 | 37 (19.0) | 20 (26.3) | | 57 (21.0) | | ≥30 and ≤60 | 135 (69.2) | 38 (50.0) | | 173 (63.8) | | >60 | 23 (11.8) | 18 (23.7) | | 41 (15.2) | | Sex (women/men) | 167/28 | 55/21 | 0.011 | 222/49 | | Thyroid enlargement, (%) | 110 (56.4) | 46 (60.5) | 0.538 | 156 (57.6) | | Number of nodules, (%) | | | 0.191 | | | Single | 182 (93.3) | 74 (97.4) | | 256 (94.5) | | Multiple | 13 (6.7) | 2 (2.6) | | 15 (5.5) | | Nodule size, (%) | | | <0.001 | | | <2 cm | 4 (2.1) | 10 (13.2) | | 15 (5.5) | | 2–5 cm | 128 (65.6) | 52 (68.4) | | 179 (66.0) | | >5 cm | 63 (32.3) | 14 (18.4) | | 77 (28.5) | | TFT, (%) | | | 0.288 | | | Hyperthyroid | 9 (4.6) | 2 (2.6) | | 11 (4.1) | | Euthyroid | 139 (71.3) | 49 (64.5) | | 188 (69.4) | | Hypothyroid | 47 (24.1) | 25 (32.9) | | 72 (26.5) | | FNA, results (%) | | | <0.001 | | | Nondiagnostic | 16 (8.2) | 7 (9.2) | | 23 (8.5) | | Benign | 44 (22.5) | 8 (10.5) | | 52 (19.2) | | Indeterminate | 85 (43.6) | 8 (10.5) | | 93 (34.3) | | Suspicious | 46 (23.6) | 12 (15.8) | | 58 (21.4) | | Malignant | 4 (2.1) | 41 (54.0) | | 45 (16.6) |
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Abbreviations: TFT: thyroid function test; FNA: fine needle aspiration.
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