The Significance of Nontoxic Thyroid Nodules

Abstract

In a total population of 5,127 persons, 218 were found to have nontoxic thyroid nodules, representing 4.2% of the sample—6.4% in females and 1.5% in males. These lesions were followed for a period of approximately 15 years, and none showed evidence of malignancy at the end of that time. During the 15-year period of observation, 67 new lesions were detected in persons previously found to be free of thyroid disease. This represented a 15-year incidence rate of 1.4%, 1.7% in females and 0.9% in males. None of these newly detected lesions showed evidence of malignancy.