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An autonomous thyroid nodule or "hot nodule" is one that has thyroid function independent of the homeostatic control of the HPT axis (hypothalamic–pituitary–thyroid axis). According to a 1993 article, such nodules need to be treated only if they become toxic; surgical excision (thyroidectomy), radioiodine therapy, or both may be used. [33]
Thyroid nodules that are detected by an imaging study but have not been previously detected or suspected clinically are considered to be ITNs. ITNs are one of the most common incidental findings on neck imaging. ITNs are reported in up to 25% of chest CT scans, and in 16–18 % of cervical region cross-sectional imaging, including CT and MRI scans.
Diffusion imaging is an MRI method that produces in vivo magnetic resonance images of biological tissues sensitized with the local characteristics of molecular diffusion, generally water (but other moieties can also be investigated using MR spectroscopic approaches). [15] MRI can be made sensitive to the motion of molecules.
Treatment of a thyroid nodule depends on many things including size of the nodule, age of the patient, the type of thyroid cancer, and whether or not it has spread to other tissues in the body. If the nodule is benign, patients may receive thyroxine therapy to suppress thyroid-stimulating hormone and should be reevaluated in six months. [2]
Most people with thyroid cancer do not have symptoms at the time of diagnosis and thyroid nodules and thyroid cancer is usually found incidentally on imaging of the neck. [10] [14] Up to 65% of adults have small nodules in their thyroids, but typically under 10% of these nodules are found to be cancerous. [15]
Colloid nodules may be initially identified as an unspecified kind of thyroid nodule. Follow-up examinations typically include an ultrasound if it is unclear whether or not there really is a nodule present. Once the presence of a nodule has been confirmed, the determination of the kind of thyroid nodule is done by fine needle aspiration biopsy. [7]
The majority of nodules do not cause any symptoms, thyroid hormone secretion is normal, and they are non-cancerous. [60] Non-cancerous cases include simple cysts, colloid nodules, and thyroid adenomas. Malignant nodules, which only occur in about 5% of nodules, include follicular, papillary, medullary carcinomas and metastasis from other sites ...
The patient swallows a radioisotope of iodine in the form of capsule or fluid, and the absorption (uptake) of this radiotracer by the thyroid is studied after 4–6 hours and after 24 hours with the aid of a scintillation counter. The dose is typically 0.15–0.37 MBq (4–10 μCi) of 131 I iodide, or 3.7–7.4 MBq (100–200 μCi) of 123 I ...