Abstract
Nodular lesions of the thyroid are detected in 4–7% of the general population and the incidence is higher in iodine-deficient areas. In autopsy studies, more than 50% of thyroids regarded as normal had nodules. Furthermore, the incidence of thyroid incidentaloma, that is, nodules incidentally detected on imaging studies, was also high at 13–67% [1]. This is likely due to the development of various imaging studies such as high-resolution ultrasonography which are increasingly likely to be performed and propagation of medical screening and “ningen dock” check-up increases.
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Notes
- 1.
A “ningen dock” is a non-mandatory health screen unique to Japan. Its purpose is to discover and locate disease in the early phase among outwardly healthy individuals. It typically includes an extensive workup of serum and urine chemistry including tests for various tumor markers, an array of image scans including CT, MRI, ultrasonogram and increasingly FDG-PET, as well as an assortment of mucus smears and physiological tests such as ECG. It is not covered by public health insurance and the cost is typically between 50,000 and 150,000 yen.
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Suzuki, S., Fukunari, N., Kameyama, K., Miyakawa, M., Tanaka, K., Hibi, Y. (2013). CQ11. Does TSH Suppression Therapy Reduce the Size of Tumors Diagnosed as Benign?. In: Takami, H., Ito, Y., Noguchi, H., Yoshida, A., Okamoto, T. (eds) Treatment of Thyroid Tumor. Springer, Tokyo. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-4-431-54049-6_16
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