ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Endocrinol.
Sec. Thyroid Endocrinology
Comparison of microwave ablation versus lauromacrogol injection ablation for 50–75% cystic thyroid nodules: A two-center retrospective study
Jiayan Bao 1
Wenbo Ding 2
Zheng Zhang 1
Yanwei Chen 1
Shuangshuang Zhao 1
Yun Cai 1
Wenjun Li 1
Jiwen Qian 1
Feng Zhao 1
Baoding Chen 1
1. Affiliated Hospital of Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, China
2. Nanjing Integrated Chinese and Western Medicine Hospital Affiliated to Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, China
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Abstract
Purpose: To compare the efficacy between microwave ablation (MWA) and lauromacrogol injection ablation (LIA) for treating 50-75% cystic thyroid nodules and systematically identify the factors influencing outcomes. Materials and methods: This retrospective study included 106 patients with predominantly cystic thyroid nodules (PCTNs) with 50-75% proportion of cystic components (simple as 50–75% cystic thyroid nodules) who underwent ultrasound-guided MWA (n=51) or LIA (n=55) in two hospitals between April 2017 and November 2023. The primary endpoint was 12-month volume reduction rate (VRR). ANCOVA was used to compare adjusted 12-month VRR between groups after adjusting for confounders. Secondary endpoints included effective treatment rate (VRR >50% at 6 or 12 months), recurrence, and stratified analysis analyses by initial nodule volume (>10 ml and ≤10 ml) and vascularity (Grades 0-1 and 2-3). Regrowth-free survival was estimated by Kaplan-Meier (KM) analysis and compared with the Log-rank test. Results: At 12 months postoperatively, the mean VRR for MWA was 91.5±9.8% and 81.1±2.4% for LIA (F=4.40, P=0.005). MWA yielded higher VRR than LIA at 6 and 12 months across both low-and high-vascularity subgroups (P<0.05). For nodules >10 ml, MWA produced significantly greater VRR at 3, 6 and 12 months (P<0.05); no significant difference was observed for nodules ≤10 ml (P>0.05). The 12-month effective treatment rate was 96.1% (49/51) after MWA versus 81.8% (46/55) after LIA (P=0.018). Regrowth rates were 3.9% (2/51) for MWA and 20.0% (11/55) for LIA (P=0.006). The KM analysis showed significantly longer regrowth-free survival following MWA (Log-rank P=0.010). Conclusion: Both MWA and LIA exhibit favorable efficacy in the treatment of 50–75% cystic thyroid nodules. Importantly, based on the approximately 12-month follow-up, MWA demonstrates superior efficacy and improved control of regrowth compared to LIA. This advantage of MWA is further amplified in the management of larger nodules.
Summary
Keywords
主要为囊性甲状腺结节4, 劳罗马克罗戈3, 囊性成分5, 微波2, 消融1, 超声波6
Received
22 November 2025
Accepted
17 February 2026
Copyright
© 2026 Bao, Ding, Zhang, Chen, Zhao, Cai, Li, Qian, Zhao and Chen. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
*Correspondence: Baoding Chen
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