Singer Feng Timo is suffering from advanced thyroid cancer. Should the thyroid nodules detected during the physical examination be removed?

Half a year ago, Feng Timo, a popular singer with tens of millions of fans, suddenly disappeared from the public eye and stopped broadcasting for a long time, sparking everyone's speculation.

Recently, Feng Timo revealed in an interview that she had stopped broadcasting for half a year because she was suffering from advanced thyroid cancer. She has now successfully undergone surgery and her voice is slowly recovering.

More and more people are diagnosed with thyroid nodules during physical examinations. Many people have questions: Will thyroid nodules turn into thyroid cancer? Should they be removed surgically? This issue of Health Focus explains it for you!

What causes the unexplained “bumps” on the neck?

Thyroid nodules refer to lumps inside the thyroid gland that can move up and down with the thyroid gland with swallowing. It is a common clinical disease caused by a variety of reasons.

Heredity: Thyroid nodules have a genetic tendency, especially when someone in the family has thyroid malignancy, the genetic effect is more obvious.

Emotional stress: When you are under high pressure for a long time, the thyroid gland will continuously secrete thyroid hormones, increasing the load on the thyroid gland. It is very common for working people to suffer from thyroid nodules.

Diet: Excessive or insufficient iodine can cause the occurrence of thyroid nodules.

Radiation: Radiation is very harmful to the thyroid gland, especially in young children. If the thyroid gland is exposed to radiation or X-rays, it may cause degeneration of thyroid cells and the formation of nodules.

In short, the occurrence of thyroid nodules is not caused by a single factor, but is the result of a combination of multiple factors.

Should thyroid nodules detected during a physical examination be removed?

In fact, thyroid nodules can be divided into benign and malignant. More than 90% of thyroid nodules are benign, and the remaining 10% or so of malignant nodules may be thyroid cancer. After a nodule is found, it is important to distinguish whether it is benign or malignant, and then treat it symptomatically.

Assuming that the nodule is a criminal, then the process from discovering the nodule to treating it is like the process from the prisoner being arrested to being sentenced.

The first step is to take photos for investigation. B-ultrasound examination is used to preliminarily determine whether the nodule is benign or malignant.

First, check whether there is microcalcification in the nodule. According to statistics, about 80% of malignant nodules have calcification.

The second is to see whether the edges of the nodule are regular. The benign border is clear, while the malignant border is not smooth, and it spreads outward like a crab claw.

The third is to see whether the nodule is "tall and thin" or "short and fat". If the aspect ratio is >1, the nodule is "tall and thin" and the risk of malignancy is high; if the aspect ratio is <1, the nodule is "short and fat" and the risk of malignancy is low.

Fourth, pay attention to the "low" and "high" echo of the nodules. The risks increase in sequence from "no echo-high echo-isoecho-low echo-extremely low echo". For low and extremely low echo nodules, we need to be especially vigilant about the risk of malignancy.

The fifth is to see whether the blood flow signal in the nodule is disordered. There are often a large number of proliferating blood vessels around and inside malignant nodules, and rich blood flow signals can be seen under ultrasound.

If the B-ultrasound suggests any one or several of the following situations, then the nodule is more likely to be malignant.

Of course, if the investigator, that is, the ultrasound doctor, is not experienced, or the resolution of the examination equipment is not high, the diagnosis of thyroid nodules may be biased.

In order to confirm whether a nodule is malignant, a second step, physical examination, is usually required.

For nodules suspected of being malignant, cytopathology examination, i.e. fine needle aspiration biopsy, is performed. Fine needle aspiration can obtain part of the nodule tissue and effectively distinguish between benign and malignant. This is like the police comparing the blood and fingerprints collected at the crime scene with the criminals to ensure that no one is wrongly accused.

The most important step is to sentence the nodule according to his crime.

If benign nodules are asymptomatic, do not cause changes in thyroid function, and do not affect appearance, they can be monitored long-term, with the patient going to the hospital to review the performance of the nodules every 6-12 months.

If a benign nodule subsequently exhibits severe symptoms, such as continuing to grow, affecting appearance, or causing discomfort such as tracheal compression, long-term monitoring must be commuted to a death sentence, and the nodule must be "beheaded" promptly, i.e. surgically removed.

It is worth noting that malignant nodules are divided into four types: papillary carcinoma, follicular carcinoma, medullary carcinoma, and undifferentiated carcinoma, and their clinical symptoms, treatments, and prognoses are all different. Therefore, they need to be sentenced under the guidance of professional doctors, rather than being "executed immediately."

Finally, NetEase Health reminds you that no matter whether the nodules are benign or malignant, patients must maintain a good mood, a balanced diet, adequate sleep, proper exercise and other healthy living habits, so that they can better defeat the disease!