RESUMO
To evaluate the relation between serum thyroid-stimulating hormone [TSH] and development of differentiated thyroid cancers in nodular thyroid disease [NTD] in Egyptians. One hundred patients were included in this study at Al-Azhar University Hospitals from 2010 to 2013; all patients with NTD, who were fi t for surgery, were selected for study. The preoperative TSH level was estimated and was compared with the final histopathological diagnosis for the presence of malignant thyroid lesions. A total of 100 patients were included in the study, with an average age of 46 years. The male to female ratio was 1: 4.7. Seventy-five patients had multinodular goiter, whereas 25 patients had a solitary thyroid nodule. Eighty-six patients underwent total thyroidectomy, whereas 14 patients underwent near- total thyroidectomy. The final histopathological data showed no evidence of malignancy in 83 patients, 83% [benign group], whereas malignant lesions were present in 17 patients, 17% [malignant group]. The preoperative mean TSH level in the benign group was 1.72 +/- 1.4 mIU/L, whereas the mean TSH concentration in the malignant group was 2.61 +/- 2.2 mIU/l. There is a definite relation between serum TSH and development of differentiated thyroid cancers in NTD as the risk of thyroid malignancy increases with increased serum TSH concentrations