What are the diagnostic methods for thyroid cancer

What are the diagnostic methods for thyroid cancer? For people who are not familiar with thyroid cancer, it is not easy to detect the presence of thyroid cancer in time. Even if it is discovered in time, it still needs to be examined and diagnosed before a treatment plan can be formulated. So, what are the diagnostic methods for thyroid cancer?

How is thyroid cancer diagnosed?

The diagnosis of thyroid cancer is valuable in the early stage. Whenever a solitary thyroid nodule is found, the possibility of thyroid cancer should be ruled out clinically. If the nodule is hard and uneven, accompanied by cervical lymphadenopathy, recurrent laryngeal nerve paralysis, or a history of neck reflexes, the possibility of cancer is very high. Similarly, if a nodule is found to be particularly prominent and hard among multiple thyroid nodules, the possibility of thyroid cancer should also be suspected. In addition, if the thyroid itself has asymmetrical swelling or nodules, and the growth is rapid, or it has become fixed, the possibility of thyroid cancer should be considered.

When making a diagnosis, do not overly rely on the uneven surface and hard texture of the mass as the characteristics of thyroid cancer. Some thyroid cancer masses can be very soft, smooth, and mobile, which is not uncommon in papillary adenocarcinoma. On the contrary, severely calcified thyroid cancer, nodular thyroid, and sclerosing thyroiditis have a hard texture and a granular surface, and are easily misdiagnosed as thyroid cancer. It is obviously incomplete to think that all cystic lesions of thyroid nodules are benign. It has been reported that the malignant transformation rate of cystic lesions is 2%, and the cystic transformation rate of thyroid cancer also increases with the growth of the nodules.

131I or 99mTc thyroid scans can only reflect the morphology of nodules and their ability to absorb isotopes, but cannot determine their nature. However, clinical data show that the likelihood of thyroid cancer increases in sequence in the scan images of hot nodules, warm nodules, cool nodules, and cold nodules. Scans can detect nodules larger than 0.5 cm. If they lose the ability to absorb isotopes, thyroid cancer may be considered (ultrasound examination should be performed to rule out the presence of cysts). However, it should be noted that not all thyroid cancers appear as cold nodules. In addition, defects in isotope distribution are related to the size of the tumor, and sometimes the image of a tumor with impaired function can be masked by normal thyroid tissue. A small number of thyroid cancers appear as hot nodules.

When the above tests cannot confirm the diagnosis, fine needle aspiration cytology can be performed, which is preferably performed one day before surgery and has a high diagnostic accuracy rate. In 10% of cases, further cell classification cannot be made and surgical exploration and histological examination are still required.

For medullary thyroid carcinoma, the diagnosis can be made by measuring serum calcitonin and by calcium or pentagastrin stimulation test.

The thyroid cancer suffered by some patients is more malignant, and the first manifestation is enlarged cervical lymph nodes due to metastatic cancer. The primary thyroid cancer is not detected by the patients. Generally speaking, a single thyroid nodule, multiple nodules or nodular goiter are more likely to be malignant.