Impact of screening with thyroid ultrasonography in myasthenia gravis patients.
Acta Neurol Scand
; 125(6): 398-402, 2012 Jun.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-21824114
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES:
This study was conducted to screen thyroid abnormality evaluated with ultrasonography (US) in patients with myasthenia gravis (MG) and investigate further when malignancy is suspected.METHODS:
Thyroid screening using US was conducted in 162 patients with MG. In cases where malignancy was suspected, further investigations were performed.RESULTS:
Abnormal US findings were detected in 125 of 162 patients with MG (72 patients with nodules, 74 patients with cysts, 27 patients with diffuse findings such as enlargement, atrophy, a hypoechoic pattern or a heterogenous echoic pattern, and 28 patients with calcification). From among these 125 subjects, 30 patients underwent further examinations such as needle aspiration cytology. As a result, six patients (3.7% of 162 cases) were positive for papillary carcinoma. The size of the carcinoma in three patients was <10 mm, yet the stage of thyroid carcinomas was high (stage III or IVa) in all six cases.CONCLUSIONS:
Our data suggest that the prevalence of thyroid carcinoma in cases of MG may be higher than that of the general population. Furthermore, in patients with MG, there is a possibility that the stage of the carcinoma is higher even when the carcinoma is of a very small size. Patients with MG, when diagnosed, should be advised to undergo US screening of the thyroid because most cases of thyroid carcinoma are highly curable.
Full text:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Thyroid Gland
/
Myasthenia Gravis
Type of study:
Diagnostic_studies
/
Prevalence_studies
/
Prognostic_studies
/
Risk_factors_studies
/
Screening_studies
Limits:
Adolescent
/
Adult
/
Aged
/
Aged80
/
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
/
Middle aged
Language:
En
Journal:
Acta Neurol Scand
Year:
2012
Document type:
Article
Affiliation country: