Elastography of the thyroid gland

Thyroid nodules are reported to be found in 33% of adults between the ages of 18 and 651 with other studies showing a prevalence of greater than 50% in those over the age of 65.2 Although most thyroid nodules are benign, the prevalence of thyroid cancer is as high as 5 to 15%,3 and there has been a862.4 times increase in the incidence of the thyroid cancer in the last 30 years. Ultrasound (US) is accurate and precise in the detection of thyroid nodules, but it has a relatively low diagnostic performance for the differentiation between benign and malignant nodules. Even though US features such as micro- or macrocalcifications, marked hypoechogenicity, taller than wide shape, and thick irregular or lobulated margins are correlated with malignancy, they are not highly predictive for this diagnosis. Furthermore, US sensitivity and specificity have considerable variability from study to study and range between 52 and 97% and 26.6 and 83%, respectively.8,9 The American Thyroid Association guidelines state that: “with the exception of suspicious cervical lymphadenopathy, which is a specific but insensitive finding, no single sonographic feature or combinations of features is adequately sensitive or specific to identify all malignant nodules. For this reason, in the cases with normal thyroidstimulating hormone, fine-needle aspiration biopsy (FNAB) is required for the nodules greater than 10 mm or those with suspicious ultrasound signs.