Endocrine Abstracts

Introduction

Thyroid nodules are common. They are mostly benign nodules. Thyroid cancer is rare: 1 % of all cancer sites. Thyroid differentiated cancers are the most common histologic types. There are several factors that can predict the malignancy in patients with thyroid nodule. The purpose of this study is to identify the predictive factors of thyroid differentiated cancers.

Material and methods

This retrospective study included 333 patients who underwent surgical treatment for thyroid nodule(s), from 2010 to 2020 at our institution. The diagnosis of thyroid cancer was determined according to the histological results. We chose P < 0.05 for statistical significance.

Results

The study included 294 women and 39 men. The mean age was 44 years [10 years – 92 years]. Histologic exam revealed a thyroid cancer in 43 cases (13 %) and a benign nodule in 290 cases (87 %). Histologic types of thyroid cancer were: papillary thyroid carcinoma in 37 cases (83 %) and vesicular thyroid carcinoma in 6 cases (14 %).Predictive factors of thyroid differentiated cancers were: male sex (P = 0.04), unique nodule (P = 0.01), the presence of lymph node (P = 0.017), size > 4 cm (P < 0.001), solid nodule (ultrasound) (P < 0.001), hypoechoic nodule (P = 0.004), central (P < 0.001) and mixed (P = 0.006) vascularization and the presence of microcalcifications (P < 0.001).

Conclusion

Many epidemiological, clinical and ultrasonographic factors of thyroid differentiated cancers, have been reported in the literature. Knowing these factors allows for an adequate selection of patients needing fine needle aspiration and surgery.