A Study of 558 Cases of Cold Thyroid Nodules, 1991-1999; Comparison to a Decade Earlier

Abstract

Introduction: Although thyroid nodules are usually benign, malignancy must always be ruled out. Many efforts have been made to find. malignant nodules and reduce the number of unnecessary operations. In this study, our aim was to examine, after the more extensive use of fine needle aspiration (FNA), whether the incidence of cancer finding has been increased. Materials and Methods: We studied retrospectively the medical records of the patients who were operated during 1991 through 1999 in the university hospital setting. Age, sex, FNA and complete pathologic reports, and whether the lesion was multinodular or a solitary nodule, were studied. The results were then compared with those of a previous study performed in the same center a decade earlier. Results: Patients' age was 3912.7 year with benign nodules, and 4515 year with malignant lesions (P Conclusions: It seems that the more widespread use of FNA is an important reason of significant increase in cancer finding.