What is thyroid tumor?

In recent years, thyroid diseases have become more and more common. Because we need to pay great attention to them, thyroid diseases can cause great harm to the patient's health. Thyroid tumors are common thyroid diseases. Thyroid tumors can be benign or malignant. Benign thyroid tumors include thyroid adenomas and thyroid cysts. Malignant thyroid tumors can easily cause thyroid cancer and require timely surgical treatment.

Clinical manifestations of thyroid tumors

(1) Lump in the front of the neck: The presence of a lump in the front of the neck is the most basic clinical feature of this disease and the main basis for diagnosis of this disease. However, thyroid enlargement can be seen in a variety of thyroid diseases and is not necessarily a thyroid tumor, so clinical inspection and palpation play an important role in the diagnosis of this disease. If you feel a painless lump with a rough surface, unclear edges, and that is fixed, it is most likely a malignant tumor.

(2) Symptoms of thyroid dysfunction: When some thyroid tumors transform into toxic nodules, they may be accompanied by hyperthyroidism, with symptoms such as palpitations, irritability, sweating, aversion to heat, irritability, and hand tremors. When thyroid tumors undergo degenerative changes, they may be accompanied by symptoms of hypothyroidism such as fatigue, chills, etc. However, the thyroid function of most patients with goiter is within the normal range, and there are no clinical manifestations of thyroid dysfunction.

(3) Local compression symptoms: When the tumor grows, some patients may experience local compression symptoms. Compression of the trachea may cause chest tightness, shortness of breath, and coughing; compression of the vocal cords may cause hoarseness; compression of the cervical sympathetic nerves may cause difficulty breathing and swallowing.

Thyroid tumor examination

(1) Thyroid function test: Thyroid tumors are generally within the normal range. A small number of patients may have hyperthyroidism, and some patients may have hypothyroidism when degenerative changes occur.

(2) Ultrasound examination: It can detect local changes in the tumor and clearly distinguish between cystic and solid nodules during the examination. However, it is difficult to distinguish the nature of solid nodules, and a 131I thyroid scan is required.

(3) 131I thyroid scan: It can detect tumor nodule shadows, which can be divided into hot nodules, warm nodules, cool nodules and cold nodules according to their functions. The majority of thyroid tumors are cold nodules.

(4) Thyroid X-ray: X-ray examination can be used to observe whether the trachea is displaced or compressed. Thyroid plain film can be used to understand whether the tumor is calcified. Benign tumors are less likely to be calcified, while cancerous tumors are more likely to be calcified. The calcification shadow is ground glass-like and has irregular edges. This is helpful in determining the nature of the tumor.

(5) Pathological examination: helps determine the pathological nature of thyroid tumors. However, there are different opinions on the role of thyroid needle biopsy in the diagnosis of thyroid malignant tumors. Some scholars believe that it can only be performed except for thyroiditis. In short, the diagnosis of this disease is mainly based on local palpation, ultrasound and 131I thyroid scanning.

Kind tips:

The clinical manifestations of thyroid tumors are very obvious and need to be treated as early as possible, otherwise it will lead to a series of complications. If it is confirmed to be a thyroid tumor, surgical removal is generally required. Only by taking good care of yourself after surgery can you recover as quickly as possible.