The term thyroid nodule refers to any abnormal growth of thyroid cells into a lump within the
thyroid. Although the majority of thyroid nodules are benign (noncancerous), a small proportion of
thyroid nodules(5-10%) do contain thyroid cancer. Because of this possibility, the goal of diagnostic
workup is to select those patients who have a high likelihood of harbouring malignancy in the solitary
thyroid nodule. The present study was undertaken to evaluate the efficacy of Fine Needle Aspiration
Cytology (FNAC), Radionuclide Scan (RNS) and Conventional and Power Doppler
Ultrasonography(USG) in differentiating between benign and malignant nodules. It was found that
FNAC is a safe, reliable and cost effective diagnostic modality with a high sensitivity of 75% and
specificity of 100% and is the single best investigation for preoperative evaluation of solitary thyroid
nodules to differentiate between benign and malignant nodules. |
