To print: Select File and then Print from your browser's menu --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Title: ENDO: Thyroid Hormone Not Necessary To Shrink Thyroid Nodules URL: http://www.pslgroup.com/dg/1FEEA2.htm Doctor's Guide June 22, 2001
By Emma Patten-Hitt
Special to DG News
DENVER, CO -- June 22, 2001 -- Routine use of thyroid hormone to shrink nodules in patients with normal thyroid function may be unnecessary, as only a small percentage appear to grow, according to the results of a new study.
Dr. Poj Tannirandorn with the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, United States, reported the findings yesterday (Thursday) at the 83rd Annual Meeting of the Endocrine Society (ENDO) in Denver, Colorado.
Although the majority of thyroid nodules (90 percent) are benign, many physicians recommend that patients with thyroid nodules be treated with thyroid hormone therapy, suggesting that it may prevent further growth of the nodules, according to the researchers.
Dr. Tannirandorn and his colleagues used ultrasound to evaluate the growth pattern of 132 benign thyroid nodules, which were taken from 93 patients not taking suppressive thyroid hormone therapy.
They recorded nodule size in three dimensions and the size was said to have changed if it had changed by more than 10 percent in two dimensions over the course of a year.
A total of 79 (60 percent) of the nodules did not change size, 45 (34 percent) decreased in size, and eight (6 percent) increased in size. There was no significant difference in the growth pattern of solid versus complex nodules.
The eight nodules that grew were found to be benign after fine needle aspiration.
Dr. Tannirandorn and his colleagues suggest that the lack of significant growth means that nodules have either reached their maximum size or are growing very slowly and may require a longer surveillance period.
Based on these results, "routine administration of TSH suppressive thyroid hormone therapy to prevent growth is unwarranted," they conclude. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright © 1999 P\S\L Consulting Group Inc. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of P\S\L content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of P\S\L. P\S\L shall not be liable for any errors, omissions or delays in this content or any other content on its sites, newsletters or other publications, nor for any decisions or actions taken in reliance on such content. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This news story was printed from *Doctor's Guide to the Internet* located at http://www.docguide.com --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Return to News Story Page This site is maintained by webmaster@pslgroup.com Please contact us with any comments, problems or bugs. All contents Copyright (c) 1998 P\S\L Consulting Group Inc. All rights reserved.