ArticleEndocrine2016
Prognosis of patients with benign thyroid nodules: a population-based study.
Article in Endocrine, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 13 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
13 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Cost-Effectiveness of Radiofrequency Ablation for Benign Non-Functioning Thyroid Nodules: A Systematic Review.Clinical otolaryngology : official journal of ENT-UK ; official journal of Netherlands Society for Oto-Rhino-Laryngology & Cervico-Facial Surgery · 2026Pooled it
- Ablative Technologies for Thyroid Nodules: A Health Technology Assessment.Ontario health technology assessment series · 2026Pooled it
- Weight Changes After Thyroid Surgery for Patients with Benign Thyroid Nodules and Thyroid Cancer: Population-Based Study and Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Thyroid : official journal of the American Thyroid Association · 2018Pooled it
- FDG-PET/CT in indeterminate thyroid nodules: cost-utility analysis alongside a randomised controlled trial.European journal of nuclear medicine and molecular imaging · 2022Trial
- Neck Ultrasound in Older Adults With Thyroid Nodules: Considering Risk of Death From Other Causes.Endocrine practice : official journal of the American College of Endocrinology and the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists · 2025Article
- Thyroid nodule size and risk of malignancy: a systematic review.Discover oncology · 2025Article
- Psychological impacts of thermal ablation and conventional thyroidectomy in BTN patients: a prospective observational study.Endocrine · 2024Observational
- Effect of ultrasound parameters of benign thyroid nodules on radiofrequency ablation efficacy.BMC medical imaging · 2023Article
- De-implementing low-value care in endocrinology.Endocrine · 2021Review
- Features of Cytologically Indeterminate Molecularly Benign Nodules Treated With Surgery.The Journal of clinical endocrinology and metabolism · 2020Article
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- Ultrasound-Guided Percutaneous Ethanol Injection for the Treatment of Cystic and Predominantly Cystic Thyroid Nodules: A Single-Centre Experience.Indian journal of endocrinology and metabolismArticle
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
Abstract
Most thyroid nodules are benign. The ideal follow-up of these patients should reflect their prognosis, which has been scarcely investigated. We aimed to evaluate the prognosis of patients with initial benign thyroid cytology. A population-based study, using the Rochester Epidemiology Project, identifying patients with benign thyroid cytology diagnosed between 2003 and 2006 and completely followed to 2014 using linked medical records. We identified 363 thyroid nodules with benign cytology in 327 patients after fine-needle aspiration biopsy. Patients were on average 53 years old (standard deviation 17), and 80 % were women. The median nodule size was 1.6 cm (interquartile range 1.2-2.4); 26 % had at least one suspicious ultrasound feature. During a median follow-up of 8 years, 54 patients (17 %) with 57 benign nodules underwent thyroidectomy, mostly due to compressive symptoms (44 %). Thyroidectomy was more likely in younger patients [hazard ratio (HR) 0.97, 95 % CI 0.96-0.99] and patients with larger nodules (HR 1.3, 95 % CI 1.16-1.48). Two patients were found to have follicular thyroid cancer in the index nodule (0.6 %) and 6 patients had papillary thyroid cancer detected in other nodules (1.8 %). No patient died from thyroid cancer. Patients with benign thyroid nodules are unlikely to suffer morbidity or mortality due to thyroid cancer. Follow-up strategies for these patients should consider this excellent prognosis and avoid causing unnecessary fear in patients and adding unneeded expense and burden to the healthcare system.
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