Goitre and thyroid cancer

Thyroid enlargement is common and thyroid malignancy rare, but the clinical presentation of benign and malignant disease are similar. The aim of clinical assessment and investigations is to identify the small number of cancers amongst the non-malignant thyroid enlargements. Investigations include thyroid function tests and fine-needle aspiration cytology. Benign thyroid disease needs treatment only in the presence of dysfunction or local compressive symptoms. The treatment of thyroid cancer is multidisciplinary and includes surgery, radioiodine therapy and lifelong thyroid-stimulating hormone suppression. The diagnosis and management of thyroid cancer is being centralized around the multidisciplinary team in order to improve the outcomes in the UK.