Thyroid cancer concurrent with multiple thyroid nodules: an analysis of 23 cases / 中国普通外科杂志

ABSTRACT

ObjectiveTo study the diagnosis of thyroid cancer concurrent with multiple thyroid nodules.Methods The clinical data of 23 patients of multiple thyroid nodules with thyroid cancer undergoing exploration from May 1988 to December 2000 were analyzed retrospectively.ResultsThe diagnosis of concurrent carcinoma was made preoperatively in 6 cases. 13 out of the 23 patients underwent second operation for the postoperative pathology being malignant. Thyroid cancer was identified concurrent with benign nodules in 20 cases. Conclusion Thyroid cancer when found on the background of multiple thyroid nodules is often coexistant with benign thyroid disease, hence the diagnosis is difficult to make clinically. Second operation is sometimes inevitable when the pathology identified a cancer in preoperatively diagnosed benign nodules.