[1]1st Division of General Surgery, Research Center for Endocrine Surgery, University of Insubria, Varese, Italy.
Introduction The purpose of this prospective study was to evaluate incidental thyroid cancer diagnosed by ultrasonography (US) in a population who underwent carotid echography. Material and methods Between January 2013 and March 2016, we examined thyroid glands during routine diagnostic, follow-up carotid US. A total of 3,533 subjects underwent carotid screening ultrasound (n = 2,662) or US for diagnosis or follow-up (n = 871). When a thyroid lesion was suspicious for malignancy, fine-needle aspiration was performed. We compared the cases of pathologically proven thyroid cancer in two groups: first group, including patients with carotid disease found, and a second group, including patients with negative findings. Discussion Among the 3,533 cases, 44 (1.24%) were diagnosed as thyroid cancer; all were papillary carcinomas. Pathologically proven thyroid cancers were identified in 14 (1.6%) of the 871 patients with carotid disease and in 30 (1.12%) of the 2,662 non-vascular disease patients (p>0.05). The diameters of the 44 thyroid nodules were 0.7-3.7 cm; the mean diameters in the first and second groups were 12.9 and 11.6 mm, respectively (p>0.05). Conclusion The incidence of thyroid cancer was similar in both group. The results of routine concurrent US carotid and thyroid examinations were helpful in detecting thyroid tumors in both patient groups.
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