Journal of Biosciences and Medicines, 2021, 9, 54-76 https://www.scirp.org/journal/jbm ISSN Online: 2327-509X ISSN Print: 2327-5081 DOI: 10.4236/jbm.2021.94005 Apr. 15, 2021 54 Journal of Biosciences and Medicines Diagnostic Value of Dual-Energy CT in Differentiating Malignant and Benign Thyroid Nodules: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Kunlin Ye 1,2 , Yongyao Kuang 1 , Jianye Liang 3 , Xi Xu 1 , Changzheng Shi 1 , Qingqing Cheng 1 , Zijie Jiang 1 , Ziyun Xiang 2* , Liangping Luo 1* 1 Department of Medical Imaging Center, The First Affiliated Hospital of Jinan University, Guangzhou, China 2 Department of Medical Imaging, Longgang District People’s Hospital of Shenzhen, Shenzhen, China 3 Department of Medical Imaging, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine, Guangzhou, China Abstract Objectives: To evaluate the diagnostic performance of the quantitative iodine parameters, including Iodine Concentration (IC), Normalized Iodine Con- centration (NIC), and λ HU , in distinguishing malignant and benign thyroid nodules. Methods: Relevant studies were searched from Web of Science, PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, China National Knowledge Infrastruc- ture database and other complementary sources from inception to May 20, 2020. Study selection, data extraction, quality assessment, and data analyses were performed following the Cochrane standards and the PRISMA-DTA guideline. Results: Eight studies were included (595 patients with 737 thyroid nodules). The pooled sensitivity, specificity and summary diagnostic odds ra- tio of IC were 79% (95% CI: 69% - 86%), 76% (95% CI: 65% - 84%) and 11 (95% CI: 5 - 27) respectively; those of NIC were 78% (95% CI: 70% - 85%), 80% (95% CI: 74% - 85%) and 15 (95% CI: 9 - 24) respectively; those of λ HU were 80% (95% CI: 71% - 87%), 77% (95% CI: 70% - 83%) and 14 (95% CI: 8 - 24) respectively. Conclusion: DECT can be a potential evaluation tool for thyroid nodules. The NIC may be the most sensitive iodine parameter and could be comparable between different DECT machines in thyroid nodule assessment. Keywords Thyroid, Nodules, Differential Diagnosis, Dual-Energy CT, Iodine How to cite this paper: Ye, K.L., Kuang, Y.Y., Liang, J.Y., Xu, X., Shi, C.Z., Cheng, Q.Q., Jiang, Z.J., Xiang, Z.Y. and Luo, L.P. (2021) Diagnostic Value of Dual-Energy CT in Differentiating Malignant and Benign Thyroid Nodules: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Journal of Biosciences and Medicines, 9, 54-76. https://doi.org/10.4236/jbm.2021.94005 Received: March 5, 2021 Accepted: April 12, 2021 Published: April 15, 2021 Copyright © 2021 by author(s) and Scientific Research Publishing Inc. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution International License (CC BY 4.0). http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Open Access