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Abstract
Clinically solitary thyroid nodule is a common disease having incidence of 1-3% in the general population. (Ladenson PW, Singer PA et al, 2000)
However, the major concern of both the patient and his clinician relates to the potentiality to malignancy of a thyroid nodule. Many surgeons would advise routine surgical resection for every solitary thyroid nodule. The incidence of thyroid cancer in patients with a palpable nodule managed according to this surgical policy ranged from 11% to 20%.Such a policy resulted in many patients undergoing unnecessary operations for what was subsequently shown to be benign thyroid disease. Thyroid surgery, even in experienced hands, is associated with definite morbidity. It is therefore logical to propose a more selective surgical policy for patients with solitary thyroid nodules. (Pacini F and De Groot LJ, 2003).
Some clinical features are associated with increased risk of thyroid malignancy. Papillary carcinoma of thyroid has been reported within families, while medullary carcinoma is familial in approximately 20% of cases. There is now ample evidence confirming the etiological relationship between both low-dose and high dose irradiation to the head and neck and the subsequent development of thyroid cancer. Although