During manual examination or ultrasound control of the thyroid gland, lumps called "nodules" with diameters ranging from a few millimeters to a few centimeters can be detected. It is necessary to control and monitor how the nodules change over time. Because, although it is a low probability, there is a possibility of them turning into cancer in the long term. This possibility is higher if the nodule has solid content, not liquid, and hormone production is low (cold - solidnodule in scintigraphy).
It is not necessary to perform a needle biopsy on every patient. Particularly those who require needle biopsy: These are patients with a nodule larger than 2 cm in diameter and patients with calcification detected even if the nodule diameter is smaller.
Thyroid fine needle biopsy< It is the process of removing and examining thyroid tissue by inserting needles directly or under ultrasound guidance. Follow-up with biopsy is useful to prevent unnecessary surgeries. However, it is a method that has limitations in terms of reliability.
In order for the biopsy to fully reflect the current situation, it is usually necessary to insert a needle into many places and many times. However, the tissue sample taken in approximately one of every four biopsies is not enough to give complete results.
When the biopsy result says there is cancer, this is almost always true, but when it says there is no cancer, the situation is a bit complicated. Because it is technically not possible to detect all cancer cases with biopsy. The biggest handicap is that while the needle is sinking into a point, it may miss a small cancer island just around it.
In the prospective follow-up of patients whose needle biopsy is reported as clean (benign), one in every 5-6 cases. It is later understood that one of them is actually cancer. In a retrospective examination of patients who underwent surgery and whose definite pathology turned out to be cancer, approximately one in every four patients has a needle biopsy report with a previously clear result in their file.
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