Ultrasound is an ideal imaging modality for the detection and evaluation of thyroid nodules. It is easy to perform, widely available, and does not involve ionization. This non-invasive test uses sound waves to create images of parts of the body without exposing you to radiation. Medullary thyroid cancer (TCM) is a more aggressive form of cancer with a poor prognosis.
Ultrasound (US) can help diagnose TCM, but some cases may be misdiagnosed as benign due to the lack of ultrasound characteristics of the malignancy. The objective of this study was to investigate the association between ultrasound characteristics and the biological behavior of TCM. US is useful for evaluating thyroid nodules due to its safety, non-invasiveness, non-radioactivity, and efficacy. Real-time high-resolution US can detect the presence, site, number, and size of thyroid nodules, as well as clearly show their characteristics. However, there is no well-described method for differentiating between malignant and benign nodules in the United States.
Some authors have reported American diagnoses of thyroid nodules with relatively high sensitivity ranging from 74% to 81%.In this study, the American characteristics of thyroid nodules were evaluated prospectively and analyzed using a multiple logistic regression analysis. The risk of cancer was low in patients with simple cysts (0.32 cancers per 1000 patients). The most common type of thyroid cancer, papillary cancer (accounting for 85% of cases), cannot be diagnosed with laboratories. A common way to treat thyroid cancer is to remove most of the thyroid by surgery and then use radioactive iodine to destroy any remaining thyroid cells. For a thyroid scan, the camera is placed in front of the neck to measure the amount of radiation in the gland.
Self-examination and regular follow-up with your family doctor are also important for diagnosing thyroid cancer. Ultrasound is also used to guide and perform a needle biopsy of a nodule to diagnose thyroid cancer. A disadvantage of this is that it can cause symptoms of hypothyroidism such as tiredness, depression, weight gain, drowsiness, constipation, muscle aches, and decreased concentration. You may have heard of another marker of thyroid cancer, thyroglobulin, that can be evaluated or followed after treatment for thyroid cancer. The risk of cancer based on the appearance of the thyroid in the ultrasound image is shown in Table 6.Doctors often use ultrasound to look at the thyroid during the biopsy which helps make sure they are taking samples from the correct areas. Thyroid nodules were common in patients diagnosed with cancer (96.9%) and in patients who were not diagnosed with thyroid cancer (56.4%). Radioactive iodine scans work best if patients have high levels of thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH or thyrotropin) in their blood.
Therefore, routine measurement of serum calcitonin should be recommended in the initial evaluation of thyroid nodules.
