THERMAL IMAGING-BASED IDENTIFICATION OF THYROID PAPILLARY CARCINOMA, ADENOMA, AND STRUMA: PRELIMINARY RESULTS.

AUTHORS:
A. Bove (Chieti, Italy) , D. Perpetuini (Pescara, Italy) , R. Manunzio (Chieti, Italy) , A. Buffone (Chieti, Italy) , D. Cardone (Pescara, Italy) , A. Merla (Pescara, Italy)
Background:
Thyroid cancer has increased significantly in recent years. Timely detection of malignant neoplasms improves cancer survival and intervention. In the field of medical diagnostics, infrared thermography (IRT) has emerged as an ecological, contactless, and non-invasive technique for detecting various pathologies, including brain tumors and skin cancer. This study examines whether IRT applied to the neck skin and to the thyroid exposed can distinguish carcinoma (C), adenoma (A), and patients with struma (S).
Methods:
The study sample was composed of 6 C, 5 A, and 14 S. The absolute difference between the maximum, minimum, and average temperatures on the left and right sides of the thyroid was calculated. The groups were compared using independent sample t-tests
Results:
Concerning the neck skin, the t-tests show that the maximum temperature can distinguish C and A (tstat= 2.465; p=0.035) and S and C (tstat=-2.267; p=0.034), but not S and A. The minimum temperature does not show significant comparisons, whereas average temperature only differs significantly between S and C (tstat=-2.587; p=0.017). T tests on the exposed thyroid indicate that the maximum temperature can identify C from A (tstat=2.335; p=0.044) and S from C (tstat=-4.306; p=3.81∙10-4), but not S and A (tstat=-1.257; p=0.225). While the minimum temperature can differentiate S and A (tstat=-2.356; p=2.43∙10-5), it is not significant for other comparisons. The average temperature distinguishes S and C (tstat=-3.293; p=0.004) and S and A (tstat=-2.356; p=0.028), but not C and A (tstat=759; p=0.472).
Conclusions:
These findings may aid early tumor detection, which improves disease management and prognosis.