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A biopsy of the thyroid can be used to confirm a diagnosis of primary hypothyroidism in a patient with symptoms and test results that point towards hypothyroidism, especially with severe cases of lymphocytic thyroiditis and thyroid atrophy. A biopsy will not necessarily be able to inform about the health of the thyroid gland and its function.
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. [32]
Radioiodine therapy with iodine-131 can be used to shrink the thyroid gland (for instance, in the case of large goiters that cause symptoms but do not harbor cancer—after evaluation and biopsy of suspicious nodules has been done), or to destroy hyperactive thyroid cells (for example, in cases of thyroid cancer). The iodine uptake can be high ...
Regular monitoring mainly consists of watching for changes in nodule size and symptoms, and repeat ultrasonography or needle aspiration biopsy if the nodule grows. [8] For patients with benign thyroid adenomata, thyroid lobectomy and isthmusectomy is a sufficient surgical treatment.
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]
ATC is an uncommon form of thyroid cancer only accounting for 1-2% of cases, but due to its high mortality, is responsible for 20-50% of deaths from thyroid cancer. [2] The median survival time after diagnosis is three to six months. [2] Some studies report that 10% to 15% survive more than 1 year; 3-year and 5-year survival is very rare.
Papillary thyroid carcinoma is usually discovered on routine examination as an asymptomatic thyroid nodule that appears as a neck mass. In some instances, the mass may have produced local symptoms. This mass is normally referred to a fine needle aspiration biopsy (FNA) for investigation. FNA accuracy is very high and it is a process widely used ...