Repeat biopsy in patients with slow-growing thyroid nodules

Should a fine-needle aspiration biopsy (FNAB) be repeated in a patient with a slow-growing thyroid nodule that was benign on a previous FNAB and shows no new risk features on ultrasonography?

Leonard Wartofsky, MD: With such a nodule, one would not be forced to repeat the biopsy based on professional guidelines. But I think most clinicians would opt to repeat it at least one time, and then, if again negative and not growing, simply follow the patient thereafter long-term.

Technically speaking, with a negative ultrasound, negative needle aspiration cytology, and no significant change in growth, one need not be worried about such a nodule.

See also

How to manage thyroid nodules A lecture by Dr Leonard Wartofsky, from Georgetown University, USA, delivered at McMaster International Review Course in Internal Medicine in Kraków in May 2018.
Euthyroid women, TPO antibodies, and thyroid supplementation Dr Serena Gundy, assistant professor at McMaster University specializing in obstetric medicine, discusses the practical implications of the recent TABLET study.
Approach to incidentally discovered adrenal mass A lecture by Dr René Rodríguez-Gutiérrez, from Mayo Clinic, USA, delivered at McMaster International Review Course in Internal Medicine in Kraków in May 2017.
Diabetes and hearing impairment Can diabetes cause hearing impairment? Should patients with diabetes be screened for hearing loss?
Levothyroxine and pregnancy loss in TPOAb-positive patients Does levothyroxine therapy reduce the risk of pregnancy loss in thyroid peroxidase antibody (TPOAb)-positive euthyroid women who are newly pregnant?
Treatment of type 2 diabetes and shared decision-making A lecture by Dr Victor M. Montori, from Mayo Clinic, USA, delivered at McMaster International Review Course in Internal Medicine in Kraków in May 2017.

Repeat biopsy in patients with slow-growing thyroid nodules

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