OSTEOCALCIFICATIONS OF THYROID NODULES

Abstract

According to the world statistics, when performing thyroid ultrasound, calcifications are detected in 20-33% of nodules of various structures. In recent years, there has been a sharp increase in the number of publications devoted to the assessment of this phenomenon, which is the basis for their study and development of their own approach. The aim is to generalize and systematize the materials available in available scientific Russian and foreign publications on the features of the structure and distribution of calcifications in nodular thyroid formations and on the opportunities of ultrasound examination in their detection and identification from the position of oncological risk. Materials and methods. To achieve the aim, methods of comparison, generalization, analysis, synthesis, grouping of classifications and systematization of data contained in publications of domestic and foreign authors were used. Results. Thyroid calcifications were previously rarely detected at the stage of preoperative examination of patients. With the widespread introduction of ultrasound into practice, such "findings" have become frequent. Despite a large number of patients with thyroid calcifications, attempts have not been made to seriously analyze and systematize this ultrasound sign, although some scientists consider them predictors of thyroid cancer. Attempts to seriously study the composition of calcifications in various nodules of the thyroid gland are occasional; they have not yielded practical results yet. Separation of calcium-containing deposits in thyroid nodules into microcalcifications and macrocalcifications significantly increased the diagnostic weight of the first group, which caused the predominant place of the sign "microcalcifications" in papillary thyroid cancer. There is no consensus on macrocalcifications. Various variants of their structure and the duration of their formation do not yet allow them to be adequately systematized from the perspective of predicting the diagnosis. Conclusions. According to the majority of the authors of the sources studied, calcium-containing deposits in the nodules of the thyroid gland indicate a severe irreversible restructuring of tissues with loss of their ability to regulate mineral metabolism. With the help of ultrasound, it is possible to not only get a descriptive presentation of calcifications, but to track their change over time as well.