In Vivo Pre-Operative Magnetisation Transfer Ratio for Detection of Thyroid Malignancy

Sidhartha Nagala¹, Mary McLean², Piyush Jani¹, John Griffiths²

A demand for new screening tests to discriminate between different thyroid tumors exists. One ex vivo study utilized magnetization transfer ratios to differentiate between normal thyroid, benign and malignant thyroid tumors. In this work, we present the results of the first in vivo study in five normal volunteers and 25 patients with suspected thyroid tumors, prior to surgery. The sensitivity and specificity to discriminate between benign and malignant thyroid tumors using this technique were comparable to the current gold standard, ultrasound-guided needle biopsy. It has potential future clinical use, and maybe valuable when combined with other imaging techniques.