Coexisting Molecular Alterations Increase the Risk of Malignancy in Thyroid Nodules with Copy Number Alterations

Simple Summary Copy number alterations are known to be present in some thyroid tumors; however, their idiosyncratic clinicopathological implications are not yet well elucidated. In this study we reviewed 67 thyroid nodules with positive copy number alterations who underwent surgery. We discovered that most of the thyroid nodules with positive copy number alterations were malignant or non-invasive follicular thyroid neoplasm with papillary-like nuclear features and the presence of coexisting molecular alterations increased the risk of malignancy in these nodules. These findings may affect the decision-making in individuals with copy number alterations positive thyroid nodules. Molecular mutations and alterations play a role in thyroid tumorigenesis. Different alterations are associated with different clinical and pathological characteristics. Copy number alterations (CNAs) are known to be present in some thyroid tumors; however, their idiosyncratic clinicopathological implications are not yet well elucidated. A retrospective chart review was performed to identify patients with CNAs on pre-operative molecular testing results who subsequently underwent surgical treatment between January 2016 and April 2022 at McGill University teaching hospitals. Of the 316 patients with thyroid nodules who opted for molecular testing with ThyroSeqV3 followed by surgery, 67 (21.2%) nodules were positive for CNAs, including 23 Bethesda III, 31 Bethesda IV, 12 Bethesda V and 1 Bethesda VI nodules. On surgical pathology, 29.9% were benign and 70.1% were malignant or non-invasive follicular thyroid neoplasm with papillary-like nuclear features (NIFTP). Among those that were malignant/NIFTP, 17.02% were considered to be aggressive cancers. The presence of other molecular alterations was found to be an independent predictor of malignancy in multivariate analysis (OR = 5.087, 95% C.I. = 1.12-23.04, p = 0.035). No unique factor was correlated with aggressiveness; however, CNA-positive thyroid nodules that were associated with high-risk mutations such as BRAF V600E, TP53, NTRK1/3 fusion, or PTEN mutation with high allele frequency (AF) ended up being aggressive cancers. Most of the CNA-positive thyroid nodules resulted in follicular patterned tumors in 41 (65.2%) cases and oncocytic tumors in 20 (29.9%) cases. This study demonstrates that 70.1% of surgically resected thyroid nodules with CNAs were malignant/NIFTP. Most CNA-positive thyroid nodules were either oncocytic patterned tumors or follicular patterned tumors. Furthermore, CNA-positive thyroid nodules were more likely to be malignant if they were associated with other molecular alterations or mutations.

Automated summary

Copy number alterations (CNAs) are commonly found in thyroid tumors, but their clinicopathological implications are not well understood. In this study, we reviewed 67 thyroid nodules with positive CNAs that underwent surgery and found that most of them were malignant or non-invasive follicular thyroid neoplasm with papillary-like nuclear features. The presence of coexisting molecular alterations increased the risk of malignancy in these nodules.