Thyroid nodules (thyroid adenomas) are usually benign changes in the thyroid gland, palpable on the neck under the fingers. The lumps tend to grow and then put pressure on neighboring organs. What are the causes and symptoms of thyroid adenomas? How is the treatment going?
Thyroid nodules( thyroid adenomas ,Nodus glandulae thyroideae ) are changes occurring within thyroid gland, usually mild, which do not require therapeutic treatment. They are palpable - you can feel them under your fingers. They are much more common in women. They appear as a single lesion or form larger clusters. The reasons for their occurrence are past thyroid diseases, genetic background or excessive exposure to ionizing radiation.
Symptoms of thyroid nodules
Lesions of the type of thyroid adenomas are small nodules, which initially may not give any clinical symptoms at all. However, it should be remembered that the anatomical space around the thyroid gland is small and the nodules that increase in size begin to show compression symptoms.
The laryngeal nerve of the larynx runs relatively close, irritation of which gives a symptom of hoarseness or a change in the timbre of the voice.
At a later stage, the main complaints are shortness of breath, difficulty swallowing food, initially solid, then liquid.
Excessive growth of glandular tissue can cause the thyroid gland to become overactive, known as an overactive thyroid.
Diagnostics of thyroid adenoma
In the event of the presence of thyroid nodules, first of all, the hormonal balance of the organ should be assessed by determining the leading hormone TSH and free hormones - fT3 and fT4.
Diagnostic tests, especially the extended ones, are necessary to assess the nature of the change. If we exclude potential malignancy, perhaps the nodule should only be observed.
The basic diagnostic tool is an ultrasound of the thyroid gland, in which the doctor can assess: the appearance of the gland, its shape, the amount of glandular tissue, and the location of changes.
In addition to ultrasonography, scintigraphy can be performed with an isotope acting as a marker. Questionable changes requireextension of diagnostics - taking a small sample by fine-needle biopsy (FNA) of the thyroid gland.
Treatment of thyroid nodules
In the case of coexisting hyperthyroidism, appropriate pharmacological treatment should be implemented - supplementation of thyroid hormones. Some patients require treatment intensification and, in addition to orally administered hormones, treatment with radioiodine is used.
The indications for surgical treatment are positive BAC results, nodular changes suspected of being malignant, symptoms of tumor mass - hoarseness, difficulty swallowing, dyspnoea.
As a rule, changes do not require such radical solutions and observation is enough - whether the existing changes are not enlarged and whether new ones arise.
ImportantIn any case, you should remember about the possibility of a malignant neoplasm (thyroid cancer), although it is a rare condition and affects only 1% of benign thyroid lesions. Most often, these changes are very well differentiated - papillary or follicular cancer.
In this situation, the treatment of choice is removal of the thyroid gland with adjuvant radiotherapy. The most malignant form is anaplastic cancer, although it occurs casuistically.
Thyroid tests
Thyroid examinations can be divided into two parts - examining the level of hormones produced by the thyroid gland and imaging examinations, the most popular of which is ultrasound. Our expert - endocrinologist Marta Kunkel from Medicover Hospital tells what these thyroid tests look like and what they show.