Fine-Needle Aspiration Biopsy Findings of the Thyroid Gland in Renal Transplant Patients.

[OBJECTIVES] For patients with end-stage renal disease, thyroid diseases are common due to altered hormone excretion and transport, and for renal transplant recipients this is due to immunosuppressive drugs. We investigated the prevalence of thyroid disorders, including thyroid cancer, by fine-needle aspiration biopsy in kidney transplant candidates and recipients and estimated the outcomes.

[MATERIALS AND METHODS] For 305 thyroid fine-needle aspiration biopsies performed from January 2000 to December 2020 in patients with end-stage renal disease, we recorded patient demographics, thyroid ultrasonography, and biopsy findings.

[RESULTS] Of biopsy results from 305 patients, 272 (89.2%) were benign, 24 (7.9%) showed atypia of undetermined significance/follicular lesion of undetermined significance, 2 (0.7%) had suspicion for malignancy, and 7 (2.3%)were malignant.Thyroid surgery was performed for 13 patients with benign results, 6 with atypia of undetermined significance/follicular lesion of undetermined significance, 2 with suspicion for malignancy, and 7 with malignancy. In 13 patients with benign cytology, the histopathology finding was also benign in lobectomy specimens. In 6 patients with atypia of undetermined significance/follicular lesion of undetermined significance, the final diagnosis was papillary thyroid carcinoma in 3 patients, adenomatous hyperplasia in 2 patients, and Hurthle cell adenoma in 1 patient. For all 9 patients for whom fineneedle aspiration biopsy was suspicious for malignancy or malignant, histopathologic examination showed papillary thyroid carcinoma in total thyroidectomy materials. Among 12 papillary thyroid carcinoma patients, 4 underwent renal transplant after thyroidectomy, and survival for these 4 patients was 116.25 ± 29.30 months after transplant without tumor recurrence or distant metastases.

[CONCLUSIONS] Thyroid diseases are more frequent in patients with end-stage renal disease or renal transplant versus the normal population and also affect morbidity and mortality at higher rates in these patients. Fine-needle aspiration biopsy is a useful diagnostic modality in evaluation and treatment of thyroid nodules in both kidney transplant candidates and recipients.