Journal of Thyroid Disorders & Therapy
Open Access

Abstract

The Relationship between Calcification of Thyroid Nodules and Thyroid Malignancies in Patients Referred to Ayatollah Taleghani Hospital

Javid Rezaeian*

Aim: Most thyroid nodules are benign and only 3% to 7% of these nodules show malignant behavior and therefore will be associated with adverse consequences in the short and long term. What is clinically important is to differentiate between benign and malignant nodules before the onset of tumor-related consequences and involvement of other tissues and organs. Recently, the presence of calcification and its pattern in nodules has been emphasized as an important parameter in differentiating benign from malignant nodules, and therefore the present study sought to investigate the role of nodular calcification in predicting thyroid cancer.

Methods: In this study, patients with thyroid disorders including thyroid nodules were studied and included in the study of thyroid nodules with thyroid nodules with calcification. In this evaluation, the type of nodule, the number of nodules, the presence of calcification in the nodules, the type of calcification as well as evidence of thyroid malignancy were examined. Relevant results were confirmed by pathology evaluation Fine Needle Aspiration sample (FNA). The ultimate goal was to evaluate the role of calcification in thyroid nodules with evidence of malignancy in the thyroid.

Results: Regarding the relationship between calcified nodules and thyroid malignancy, calcified nodules were confirmed in 51.1% of malignant lesions and in 25.0% of benign lesions, indicating a significant difference between the two groups (p value equal to 0.047). Accordingly, the probability of calcification of malignant nodules was 3.12 times that of benign nodules. Regarding the presence of calcified nodules with malignant type, the prevalence of calcified nodules in FTC is equal to 0.60%, in HTC equal to 66.7%, in ATC equal to 0.50%, in MTC equal to 33.3% and in PTC equal to 0.50% evaluated. The prevalence of microcalcification in anaplastic lesions was 0.0%, in FTC was 33.3%, in Hashimoto's thyroiditis was 0.60%, in HTC was 100%, in MTC was 100% and in PTC was 68.4%.

Discussion: The presence of calcification pattern, especially microcalcification, is significantly more common in malignant nodules than benign thyroid nodules. Thyroid is beneficial. Therefore, the presence of nodular calcification would be significantly associated with a higher risk of thyroid cancer.

Published Date: 2021-11-03; Received Date: 2021-10-13