New Insight into the diagnosis and management of thyroid nodule

A solitary thyroid nodule is a palpable discrete swelling within an otherwise apparently normal thyroid gland. nodules must approach 1cm in diameter to be consistently recognized on palpation, although according to the location of nodule within the gland and the anatomy of the neck, this size varies. with time, they may enlarge, shirnk or even disappear spontaneously, but most do not change appreciably(1,11). most are actually the only palpable nodule of multiple nodules in small clinically unrecognized multinodular goiters(2).the majority of thyroid nodules are benign lesions. but about 5% of all palpable nodules are found to be malignant(3). so the main objective of evaluating them is to exclude malignancy. how can the less common malignant one be distinguished from the much more common benign nodules? what treatment strategies may be used to avoid unnecessary testing while identifying the few patients who require therapy? these issues are central to the purpose of this review.