An interventional study of ultrasound-guided percutaneous microwave ablation (MWA) in Thyroid Nodule (Diagnosis), sponsored by Chinese University of Hong Kong. Recruiting at 1 site in Hong Kong. Open to participants aged 18 Years and older. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-11-02.
Sponsored by Chinese University of Hong Kong · Not applicable, Interventional, and Treatment
The goal of this clinical trial is to learn if microwave ablation of benign thyroid nodules under local anaesthesia is a safe and effective procedure compared to open thyroidectomy.
The main questions it aims to answer are:
Dose microwave Ablation effectively cause shrinkage of thyroid nodules? Can ablation of selective area of nodules be safely performed under ultrasound guidance, avoiding critical structures including recurrent laryngeal nerve, major vessels and trachea? Researchers will recruit subjects with symptomatic benign thyroid nodules for Microwave Ablation.
Participants will:
Undergo ultrasound guided Microwave Ablation of benign thyroid nodules. Visit the clinic at post operation 2-week, 3-month, 6-month, 12-month, 2-year and 3-year for checkups and tests.
Fill in questionnaire at each clinic visit for pain, pressure symptoms, cosmetic overall satisfaction in Visual Analog Scale.
Benign thyroid nodules are common in the general population. Some of them can cause significant patient concerns including compression symptoms and cosmetic issues. Traditional treatment of symptomatic benign thyroid nodules has been surgical excision which is a procedure under general anaesthesia and carries peri-operative complications. Microwave ablation (MWA) is a minimally invasive procedure, which is used for benign and malignant tumors of liver and lung. It has gained attention among otolaryngologists as it could be a minimally invasive procedure under local anaesthesia and effectively causes shrinkage of thyroid nodules, according to some recent studies. Ablation of selective area of nodules can be safely performed under ultrasound guidance, avoiding critical structures including recurrent laryngeal nerve, major vessels and trachea. Effect of ablation could also be 'visualized' real time with ultrasound images.
This is a prospective study. There is one arm, Microwave Ablation of thyroid nodules. We will recruit 60 subjects with symptomatic benign thyroid nodules for Microwave Ablation.
Under ultrasound guidance, the microwave electrode was inserted targeted to the nodule. The extent of the ablated zone is determined real-time by the echogenic changes around the electrode. Ablation will be away from important structure, including major vessels, recurrent laryngeal nerve and trachea.
Participants will have clinic visit at post operation 2-week 3-month, 6-month, 12-month, 2-year and 3-year for checkups and tests.
207 studies on the registry are indexed under Thyroid Nodule; 64 are open to participants now.
This study's planned enrollment of 60 is below the median of 75 across 121 interventional studies indexed under Thyroid Nodule.
Browse Thyroid Nodule studies →Chinese University of Hong Kong is the lead sponsor of 1,454 studies on the registry; 474 are open to participants now.
Of its 6 completed or terminated interventional studies of FDA-regulated products, 0 (0%) have results posted.
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Go through the criteria one by one — yes, no or not sure — and take the list to your doctor or the study team. Kept in this browser only.
Exclusion Criteria:
Underlined terms in the criteria open these too. Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Malignancy means cancer. Criteria about another or earlier malignancy ask whether you have had a different cancer, usually within a set number of years.
Some are commonly allowed, such as treated skin cancers other than melanoma and early cancers removed completely — check the exceptions this study lists.
Cancer that has spread from where it began to other parts of the body. “Metastatic” cancer is cancer that has spread this way.
Weight in kilograms divided by height in metres squared. Example: 70 kg and 1.75 m gives 70 ÷ (1.75 × 1.75) ≈ 22.9.
What counts as overweight or obesity differs between countries (some use lower cut-offs), so go by the range the study states.
The study doctor’s estimate of how long someone is likely to live. Criteria use it so that people can stay in the study long enough for it to answer its question.
Cancer (malignancy)
Malignancy means cancer. Criteria about another or earlier malignancy ask whether you have had a different cancer, usually within a set number of years.
Some are commonly allowed, such as treated skin cancers other than melanoma and early cancers removed completely — check the exceptions this study lists.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Metastases
Cancer that has spread from where it began to other parts of the body. “Metastatic” cancer is cancer that has spread this way.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
BMI (body mass index)
Weight in kilograms divided by height in metres squared. Example: 70 kg and 1.75 m gives 70 ÷ (1.75 × 1.75) ≈ 22.9.
What counts as overweight or obesity differs between countries (some use lower cut-offs), so go by the range the study states.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Life expectancy
The study doctor’s estimate of how long someone is likely to live. Criteria use it so that people can stay in the study long enough for it to answer its question.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Microwave ablation (MWA) is a minimally invasive, image-guided medical procedure that used to shrink benign (non-cancerous) thyroid nodules
Procedure: ultrasound-guided percutaneous microwave ablation (MWA)
Under ultrasound guidance, the microwave electrode was inserted targeted to the nodule. Ablation is carried out one axial plane at a time, from inferior to superior aspect of the targeted lesion. Within each axial plane, ablation is performed from deep to superficial manner to prevent bubble generated by the ablation from hindering ultrasound examination. The extent of the ablated zone is determined real-time by the echogenic changes around the electrode. Ablation will be away from important structure, including major vessels, recurrent laryngeal nerve and trachea. During the procedure, the patient's vital signs including O2 saturation, blood pressure and heart rate would be monitored. Operative procedures, difficulties encountered (if any) and operation time will be documented.
Thyroid nodule volume reduction rate (VRR) at 3 months post operation
Thyroid nodule volume is measured via ultrasound and calculated using the ellipsoid formula (length × width × depth × π/6). Changes in nodule volume are expressed as the VRR (%) calculated using the following formula: (Baseline volume - nodule volume at 3 months post operation) × 100/ Baseline volume. This is the percentage measurement of how much a nodule has shrunk compared to its size before the procedure. A positive thyroid nodule volume reduction rate (VRR) means that the physical size (volume) of a thyroid nodule has successfully decreased following the operation. A negative thyroid nodule volume reduction rate (VRR) means that the size or volume of a thyroid nodule increased rather than shrank after a monitoring period.
Time frame: Baseline and 3 months post operation
Procedure time of microwave ablation
Procedure time is defined as the duration from the insertion of the microwave ablation antenna into the patient until the removal of the antenna, measured in minutes.
Time frame: At the time of operation (Day 0)
Pain intensity as assessed by the Visual Analog Scale (VAS)
The Visual Analog Scale (VAS) is a self-reported instrument used to measure subjective pain intensity after the operation. The total score ranges from 0 to 10, where a score of 0 represents "no pain" and a score of 10 represents "the worst imaginable pain". Higher scores indicate greater pain severity. Maximum pain score recorded on the day of the microwave ablation procedure (Day 0)
Time frame: Day 0
Overall Satisfaction Score of the operation at 3 years post operation
Overall satisfaction of the operation assessed using a Visual Analog Scale (VAS). Scores range from 0 to 10, where 0 indicates "completely dissatisfied" and 10 indicates "completely satisfied". A higher score represents a better outcome.
Time frame: 3 years post operation
Change From Baseline in Visual Analog Scale (VAS) Score for Pressure Symptoms at 3 years post operation
The Visual Analog Scale (VAS) is used to self-report the severity of pressure symptoms. The scale ranges from 0 to 10, where 0 indicates "no symptoms" and 10 indicates "the most severe symptoms imaginable". Higher scores represent worse outcomes.
Time frame: Baseline and 3 years post operation
Plan to share: Yes
No publications or documents are linked to this record.
From the registry record's own update history. This site started tracking changes on Sep 25, 2026; for anything earlier, see the record history on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
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