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Veracyte Announces New Data Suggesting Afirma Testing Can Help Personalize Care for Patients with Thyroid Nodules
Findings published in Frontiers in Endocrinology were derived from analyses of Veracyte’s comprehensive thyroid nodule database of whole transcriptome
About this update from Veracyte, Inc.
[{"type":"text","content":"\nFindings published in Frontiers in Endocrinology were derived from analyses of Veracyte’s comprehensive thyroid nodule database of whole transcriptome sequencing\n\n SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--\nVeracyte, Inc. (Nasdaq: VCYT) today announced that data published in Frontiers in Endocrinology provide new insights into the frequency and risk of malignancy (ROM) associated with thyroid stimulating hormone receptor (TSHR) mutations in indeterminate thyroid nodules. The findings, which were derived from analyses of Veracyte’s comprehensive thyroid nodule database of whole transcriptome sequencing, suggest that the use of Afirma testing could help inform diagnoses and personalized treatment decisions for patients with thyroid nodules.\n\n“We wanted to assess the frequency and risk of malignancy of TSHR mutations in indeterminate thyroid nodules, as well as how the risk of malignancy differs among those nodules classified by the Afirma Genomic Sequencing Classifier as suspicious for cancer versus benign,” said Joyce Shin, M.D., endocrine surgeon and surgical director of the Thyroid Center, Cleveland Clinic, and an author on the study. “Our results suggest that TSHR mutations are rare and mostly associated with benign Afirma GSC classification; however, when coupled with an Afirma GSC ‘suspicious’ result, the risk of malignancy is significantly higher. This finding, from the largest cohort of TSHR-mutated indeterminate thyroid nodules evaluated to date, suggests that Afirma testing may provide clinically meaningful risk-stratification for patients whose thyroid nodules have this mutation.”\n\nDr. Shin and colleagues evaluated indeterminate thyroid nodules that had undergone Afirma GSC testing and RNA sequencing analysis, and found that 8,881 had a TSHR variant, representing 5.4% of all samples collected over the study period. Of these, only 5% were classified as suspicious for cancer by the Afirma GSC. Among those nodules classified by the Afirma GSC as benign, the risk of malignancy is expected to be less than or equal to 4%, similar to a cytologically benign nodule where conservative follow-up is preferred. However, researchers found that when the Afirma GSC identified a thyroid nodule with a TSHR mutation as suspicious, the risk of malignancy was 15.3%, a level of risk for which most physicians would likely recomme...