| Diagnosis | Treatment |
| Blood test | Medical |
| Ultrasound | Surgery |
| Radioactive scanning | Radioiodine |
| Biopsy | |
1 Blood tests
T3 T4 TSH
* The measurement of thyroid-stimulating
hormone (TSH) levels is often used by doctors
as a screening test. Elevated TSH levels
can signify an inadequate hormone production,
while suppressed levels can point at excessive unregulated production of hormone.
* If TSH is abnormal, decreased levels of thyroid hormones T4 and T3 may be present; these may be determined to confirm this.
2 Ultrasound
Nodules of the thyroid may or may not be cancer. Medical ultrasonography can help determine their nature because some of the characteristics of benign and malignant nodules differ.
3 Radioiodine scanning and uptake
Thyroid scintigraphy, imaging of the thyroid with the aid of radioactive iodine, usually iodine-123 (123I), is performed in the nuclear medicine department of a hospital or clinic.
For example, a nodule that is overactive ("hot") to the point of suppressing the activity of the rest of the gland is usually a thyrotoxic adenoma, a surgically curable form of hyperthyroidism that is hardly ever malignant. In contrast, finding that a substantial section of the thyroid is inactive ("cold") may indicate an area of non-functioning tissue such as thyroid cancer.
4 A medical biopsy refers to the obtaining of a tissue sample for examination under the microscope or other testing, usually to distinguish cancer from non-cancerous conditions. Thyroid tissue may be obtained for biopsy by
fine needle aspiration
or by surgery. Sampling can be guided by ultrasound.
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