What is a Thyroid Nodule?

Thyroid nodule is a very common condition in our country. It is a condition that is often found in both men and women without discrimination. One out of every two people has a thyroid nodule. Goiter is more common in women. Due to the iodine deficiency in our country, the thyroid gland enlarges and this causes goiter to be common. However, if this goiter disease, that is, the enlargement of the thyroid gland, small lumps form in the thyroid gland tissue, these conditions are also called thyroid nodules. Considering the female-to-male ratio, thyroid nodules are more common in women and less common in men. It should be noted that nodular goiter is also seen in 12% of women with thyroid nodules. Although thyroid nodules are more common in women, it has been proven as a result of research that nodules at risk of cancer are more common in men.

If thyroid nodules appear suddenly before the age of 20 or after the age of 60, if they are hard cases and adhered to the surrounding tissue system, the risk of being identified as cancer is higher. However, if a woman at the gestational age has a thyroid nodule that occurs spontaneously under normal conditions, it is quite common for them to be benign nodules and to be found harmless. To determine whether a nodule is cancerous or non-cancerous, scintigraphy examinations are required. If the nodule is soft, not overgrown, can move when it is examined regularly and on ultrasound, it has been determined that such nodules do not carry a cancer risk. In order to reach a definitive conclusion, a biopsy must be performed and pathologically evaluated.

Thyroid nodule is a kind of person's structural disease. It means the development of a set of lumps that should not be in the thyroid gland of the patient, or which stand separately, in the thyroid gland. As long as these developments and growths remain within certain limits and are benign, they do not cause too many problems in the person's life. Since it is a very common disease in our country, physicians do not intervene in the nodules much. Nearly ten percent of the nodules in the person's body are suitable to become cancerous cells, so it is a very critical decision to intervene in the nodules. It is beneficial for anyone with a thyroid nodule to show this condition to physicians at certain time intervals during periodic controls.