Incidence of thyroid carcinoma in multinodular goiters

Abstract

Objective To determine the frequency of thyroid carcinoma in multinodular goiter in patients undergoing thyroidectomy. Patients and Methods This retrospective study was carried out at two private hospitals including a teaching University Hospital i.e. Isra University Hospital, Hyderabad over a period of three years from April 2005 to March 2008. All patients who underwent different types of thyroid surgeries during this period were included in the study. All data including age, gender, relevant investigations like ultrasonography, fine needle aspiration cytology, type and duration of surgery and final histopathology report were recorded on a standard form. Results Out of 140 patients operated for different thyroid operations, 15 had thyroid carcinoma. Among them, 105 patients had multinodular goiter and eight (7.6%) had different thyroid cancers among these multinodular goiters. Papillary carcinoma was found to be the most common cancer in patients with multinodular goiter. Conclusion The risk of malignancy in multinodular goiter should not be underestimated as majority of the patients with thyroid cancers presents with multinodular goiter. (Rawal Med J 2010;35: ).