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The frequency of cold thyroid nodules and thyroid malignancies in patients from an iodine‐deficient area
Author(s) -
Belfiore Antonino,
La Rosa Giacomo L.,
Padova Giuseppina,
Sava Lidia,
Ippolito Orazio,
Vigneri Riccardo
Publication year - 1987
Publication title -
cancer
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.052
H-Index - 304
eISSN - 1097-0142
pISSN - 0008-543X
DOI - 10.1002/1097-0142(19871215)60:12<3096::aid-cncr2820601240>3.0.co;2-v
Subject(s) - medicine , iodine , thyroid , thyroid nodules , thyroid cancer , iodine deficiency , pathology , materials science , metallurgy
An analysis of thyroid cancer morbidity was carried out in two adjacent areas of Sicily differing in iodine intake. A consecutive series of 911 patients with “cold” nodules from an iodine‐deficient area (IDA) and 2537 from a control area (CA) were examined by fine needle aspiration and selected for surgery and pathologic examination. Malignancies were found in 27 of the patients (2.96%) from the IDA and in 139 patients (5.48%) from the CA. Based on a population survey indicating that “cold” thyroid nodules were 2.5 times more frequent in the IDA with respect to the CA, we calculated a prevalence of 127 thyroid cancers per 10 5 inhabitants in the IDA versus 93 in the CA ( P < 0.001). Moreover, follicular and anaplastic carcinomas were three times more frequent in the IDA than in the CA (75 versus 24 cases per 10 5 inhabitants, respectively). These studies indicate that iodine deficiency may be one factor in the development of certain thyroid malignancies in man.