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Related Experiment Videos

Thyroid nodule shape and prediction of malignancy.

Erik K Alexander1, Ellen Marqusee, Joseph Orcutt

  • 1Thyroid Section, Division of Endocrinology, Hypertension and Diabetes, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA. ekalexander@partners.org

Thyroid : Official Journal of the American Thyroid Association
|January 27, 2005
PubMed
Summary

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Spherical thyroid nodules are more likely to be malignant. This finding can help doctors assess cancer risk in patients with thyroid nodules, improving diagnostic accuracy.

Area of Science:

  • Endocrinology
  • Oncology
  • Radiology

Background:

  • Thyroid nodules are common, with most being benign.
  • Fine-needle aspiration (FNA) has limitations in accurately determining malignancy.
  • Tumor growth depends on oxygen delivery, potentially influenced by shape.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate if the spherical shape of solid thyroid nodules predicts malignancy.
  • To assess the correlation between nodule shape and cancer risk.

Main Methods:

  • Retrospective analysis of 993 solid thyroid nodules from 747 patients (1995-2000).
  • Nodule malignancy determined by FNA and/or surgical pathology.
  • Spherical shape quantified using the longest to shortest dimension ratio.

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Main Results:

  • Spherical shape was independently associated with increased malignancy risk (p < 0.001).
  • Malignancy rates were 18% for spherical nodules versus 5% for non-spherical nodules.
  • A long-to-short axis ratio > 2.5 predicted benign nodules with 100% accuracy (4% of cohort).

Conclusions:

  • The spherical shape of solid thyroid nodules is linked to a higher likelihood of malignancy.
  • Nodule shape assessment may enhance clinical risk stratification for thyroid cancer.