What is cold thyroid nodule?
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. A cold nodule is a thyroid nodule that does not produce thyroid hormone. On a radioactive iodine uptake test a cold nodule takes up less radioactive material than the surrounding thyroid tissue. A cold nodule may be malignant or benign.
How often are cold thyroid nodules cancerous?
Thyroid nodules that do not absorb the radioiodine are called cold and have a 5 percent risk of being cancerous. Approximately 95 percent of thyroid nodules are cold.
Can a hot nodule turn cold?
If a hot nodule is producing excess amounts of thyroid hormone, the remainder of the thyroid gland may in fact be “turned off” and appear cold or absent on a thyroid scan. This is a normal compensatory response to the development of hyperthyroidism and a low TSH.
What causes a hot nodule?
The majority of thyroid nodules are caused by an overgrowth of normal thyroid tissue. The cause of this overgrowth is usually unknown, but there is a strong genetic basis. In rare cases, thyroid nodules are associated with: Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, an autoimmune disease that leads to hypothyroidism.
What causes cold nodules thyroid?
Cancerous nodules are more likely to be cold, because cancer cells are immature and don’t accumulate the iodine as well as normal thyroid tissue. However, cold spots can also be caused by cysts. This makes the ultrasound a much better tool for determining the need to do an FNA.
How do you shrink thyroid nodules?
Can Thyroid Nodules Shrink on Their Own? Most solid thyroid nodules will not shrink on their own. In such cases, your doctor may prescribe medicine or recommend surgery to remove the nodules or shrink a nodule by removing fluid from it with a thin needle.
Is a hot nodule cancerous?
Nodules that produce excess thyroid hormone — called hot nodules — show up on the scan because they take up more of the isotope than normal thyroid tissue does. Hot nodules are almost always noncancerous. In some cases, nodules that take up less of the isotope — called cold nodules — are cancerous.
