Defining the role of fine-needle aspiration of thyroid nodules in male patients: is it necessary?

Background: The purpose of this investigation was to show that fine-needle aspiration (FNA) of thyroid nodules in male patients may not be necessary in diagnosing thyroid cancer.

Methods: We performed a retrospective review of 130 adult male patients who underwent total thyroidectomy from January 2000 to January 2006 at a single institution. The preoperative FNA data for these subjects were reviewed and compared with the surgical pathology reports.

Results: During the study period, 70 of 130 (54%) had FNA, whereas 60 of 130 (46%) did not have FNA. Among all patients, 66 of 130 (51%) had a final pathology diagnosis of thyroid cancer and FNA was performed in 41 of 66 (62%) of these patients. The FNA pathology then was compared with the final pathology.

Conclusions: In our study there was a high false-negative rate for FNA biopsy in the detection of thyroid malignancy in males. An alternative to FNA biopsy in male patients with thyroid nodules may be to go directly to surgery.