April - June 2009, Volume 5, Issue 2

Gheorghisan-Galateanu A, Ioachim D

Histological changes in benign solitary thyroid nodules – a prospective morphological studies

Acta Endo (Buc) 2009, 5 (2): 221-231
doi: 10.4183/aeb.2009.221

Background: The solitary benign thyroid nodules represent one of the most common\r\nabnormalities affecting the thyroid gland. The appearance of solitary thyroid nodules is\r\nvariable and all the patients should be assessed as soon as possible in order to establish the\r\nbenign nature of the lesion and to rule-out malignancy.\r\nThe aim of the present study is to show the histological changes that appear during\r\nevolution of benign solitary thyroid nodules and rapid growing rate along 6 years, in 71\r\npatients (65 women and 6 men).\r\nMethods: All cases were evaluated by clinical, ultrasound, biochemical (at every 6\r\nmonths) and FNA (initially and repeated between 10 months and 4 years afterwards); 26 out\r\nof 71 presented, along evolution, an increase of thyroid nodule (24 women and 2 men) from\r\n1.77 cm diameter (1.4-2 cm) to more than 2.5 cm (2.5-4.3 cm), therefore a radical surgical\r\nattitude was performed.\r\nResults: Histological postsurgery data showed degenerative changes in all cases, with\r\nrepetitive nodular hemorrhage (26 cases), sclerohyalinisation of the interfollicular stroma (4\r\ncases), cholesteatoma (5 cases) and inflammatory infiltrate (8 cases).\r\nIn conclusion, the significant growth of a benign solitary nodule is determined by\r\nrepetitive hemorrhages in the thyroid tissue. The associated sclerosis induces changes in the\r\nnodular firmness and might trigger the thyroid surgery.

Keywords: solitary benign thyroid nodule, long-term conservative follow-up, fineneedle\r\naspiration, repetitive nodular hemorrhages, stromal sclerohyalinisation

Correspondence: Ancuta Gheorghisan-Galateanu “Carol Davila” University, 8 Eroilor Sanitari\r\nBlvd, 76241 Bucharest, Romania, Tel/Fax: +40(0)21 318 0862, E-mail: agheorghisan@hotmail. com