[Diagnosis of thyroid cancer in endemic goiter areas (based on Arkhangelsk Province data)]

A detailed examination of 281 patients who had undergone primary surgery for nodular formations in the thyroid was carried out. In most cases, up-to-date methods of preoperative diagnosis (thyroid scanning, diagnostic puncture followed by cytological examination and X-ray examination of soft tissues of the neck to detect calcinates in the gland) were employed. Thyroid cancer was detected in 18.1% of these cases, while background tumor process was not established in 2.1% of patients only. Cancer incidence rates were similar in the cases of single nodes (17.3%) and multiple nodes (19.3%) in the thyroid. Considering the high risk of cancer in the pathologically-altered thyroid tissue, extrafascial surgery for nodular formations rather than intrafascial (for ablastic reasons) should be indicated in patients living in areas where goiter is endemic.