MORPHOMETRIC PROPERTIES OF THYROID NODULES IN RELATION TO AGE

Mehmet Fatih Ekıcı^{1, *}, Ali Cihat Yıldırım¹, Faik Yaylak¹, Sezgin Zeren¹, Cengiz Koçak², Gizem Akkaş Akgun³, Mustafa Cem Algın¹ 

¹Department of General Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, Kutahya Health Science University, Kütahya 43100, Turkey - ²Department of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, Uşak University, Uşak, Turkey - ³Department of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, Kutahya Health Science University, Kütahya 43100, Turkey

Introduction: Thyroid disorders do not have an age limit. However, geriatric patients with thyroid disorders require careful follow-up and special attention during treatment, which requires a multidisciplinary approach to maintain their lifelong quality of life. Patients in the geriatric age group often develop multinodular goiter, where both hyperfunctional and hypofunctional nodules suspected of malignancy may coexist. The aim of this study was to evaluate the morphometric measurements of age-related differences histopathological thyroid gland and thyroid nodules.

Methods: A retrospective chart review of 454 thyroidectomy materials was performed. Two groups were designed according to age (<65 and >65 years old). Age analyses of the length, depth, and width of the histopathological thyroid’s right and left lobes as well as the nodule diameter and length were performed. Pathologically confirmed malignant nodules were also evaluated in this case-control study. 

Results: The mean length and mean diameter of the histopathological diagnosed thyroid benign and malignant nodule were higher in the geriatric group (p=0.019 and p=0.048, respectively). Moreover, the incidence rate of thyroid cancer in geriatric patients increased to 10.3%. 

Conclusion: Age is an independent factor for malignant thyroid nodules. When the thyroid nodule is detected in an elderly patient, the frequency of thyroid cancer and anaplastic type cancers should be considered. This study investigates developments in thyroid nodule evaluation and considers their management by taking into account existing guidelines and supporting evidence.