Pearls and Pitfalls of Diagnosing Thyroid

MalignanciesBy Christa R. Lyons

Presentation Outline

• Characteristics

• Cancer

• Controversy

• Conclusion

Common Interpretive Pitfalls

• Cystic or Calcified Nodal Metastases

• Mistaking diffusely infiltrative thyroid carcinomas

• Failing to recognize microcalcifications

Pathological Types of Thyroid Malignancy

Images courtesy of Dr. Ravi Kadasne, UAE.

Pathological Types of Thyroid Malignancy

Calcifications

Calcifications

Margins, Contour, & Shape

• Halo or Hypoechoic Rim

Margins, Contour, & Shape

• Halo or Hypoechoic Rim

• Width and Length

• Vascularity

Margins, Contour, & Shape

• Halo or Hypoechoic Rim

• Width and Length

• Vascularity

• Size of Nodule

• Number of Nodules

New Research on Microcalcifications - Three

catagories• Solitary calcifications without shadowing

in middle and >2mm

• Eggshell calcifications - curvilinear hyperechoic structure

• All other coarse but not otherwise specified (NOS)