People at risk for a thyroid nodule

People at risk for a thyroid nodule

People at risk

  • The elderly because nodules become more frequent with advancing age: 20% of people aged 30 have a nodule detectable on ultrasound, and 50% at 60 years. 

  • The women.
  • People with iodine deficiency.
  • People with a close relative with a thyroid nodule.
  • People who have had a previous thyroid abnormality (for example, thyroiditis). 

  • People who have already received radiation therapy to the head or neck.

  • People who have been exposed to radioactive particles from nuclear tests or accidents, such as Chernobyl in 1986 or more recently Fukushima. In their case, there is an increased risk of thyroid cancer. The effects can be felt up to several thousand kilometers away from the radioactive emanation. Impacts on the thyroid can appear several years after exposure.

    • Elements which may give rise to a suspicion of a risk of cancer in the presence of a thyroid nodule:

    • Age: under 16 or> over 65
    • Male
    • History of thyroid cancer tumor
    • Recently appeared or rapidly evolving nodule
    • Hard, irregular, or fixed nodule
    • History of cervical irradiation
    • Proximal lymphadenopathy

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