Consequently, the rate of cancer was not different between nodules with or without ultrasound calcifications. Overall 23 of the 42 (54%) nodules with any type of ultrasound calcification were cancer, but 13 of the 29 nodules (45%) without ultrasound calcifications were also found to be cancer. In fact, 5 (12.8%) nodules without ultrasound calcifications were found to have calcifications on in the thyroid tissue. However, only 11 of the 22 nodules (50%) with ultrasound microcalcifications contained calcifications in the thyroid tissue. Of the 42 nodules with any type of ultrasound calcification, 28 of them (66.7%) actually had calcifications in the tissues examined after surgery. Ultrasound calcifications were detected in 42 (51.9%) of all nodules, although only 22 of those (27%) were true microcalcifications and the other 20 (24.7%) were macrocalcifications. Of the 81 patients, 63% were female and the average age was 50 years. The presence of calcifications in both the ultrasound image and the surgical tissue was noted and the relationship between cancer and calcification patterns was determined. Patients were included if the same ultrasound features were observed by two different radiologists. This study included 81 thyroid nodules from 81 patients who underwent thyroidectomy at a single center in Turkey between January 2013 and March 2014. Since calcifications can also be seen in benign thyroid nodules, the aim of the current study was to examine whether ultrasound calcifications truly predict a) calcifications in thyroid tissue itself and b) the diagnosis of papillary thyroid cancer.īilici S et al Histopathological investigation of intranodular echogenic foci detected by thyroid ultrasonography. Thus, it is commonly accepted that, when present on an ultrasound, microcalcifications represent areas of papillary thyroid cancer. The presence of microcalcifications (and not macrocalcifications) on an ultrasound is felt to be highly suggestive of thyroid cancer because they are assumed to correlate with the round, calcified Psammoma bodies of papillary thyroid cancer that a pathologist sees when examining thyroid tissue under a microscope after surgery. In contrast, macrocalcifications are more coarse areas of calcification that are greater than 1 mm in size. Microcalcifications within a nodule are small flecks of calcification 1 mm or less in size that appear bright on an ultrasound image. One of the most important ultrasound features of cancer is the presence of calcifications, especially microcalcifications, in a thyroid nodule. In this respect, thyroid ultrasound is the best imaging test to evaluate thyroid nodules, because it can detect features that are felt to predict cancer. Thus, clinicians are often faced with the task of deciding which nodules require further investigation for thyroid cancer with a biopsy, and which nodules can be followed by just observation. While most thyroid nodules are not cancer (benign), ~5% are cancerous. Thyroid nodules are a very common that can be detected in up to 2/3rds of people, often on a physical examination or a test done for other reasons.
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