Thyroid nodule macrocalcification does not mean the nodule is benign
Clinical Thyroidology
The most recent ATA guidelines for the evaluation of thyroid nodules and cancer emphasize the use of thyroid ultrasound to guide the clinician to which nodule requires biopsy to exclude malignancy. Microcalcifications are frequently cited as being highly specific for thyroid malignancy, especially for papillary thyroid carcinoma. However, the risk for malignancy of macrocalcifications is not widely known. However, the risk for malignancy of macrocalcifications is not widely known. More

The natural progression of subclinical hyperthyroidism
Clinical Thyroidology for Patients
Hyperthyroidism occurs when the thyroid gland is overactive, producing too much of the thyroid hormones. Overt hyperthyroidism occurs when levels of the thyroid hormones (T4 and T3) are elevated and the TSH is suppressed. This is usually caused by Graves' disease or toxic nodules. Patients with overt hyperthyroidism usually some form of treatment which may include medications, radioactive iodine or thyroid surgery. Subclinical hyperthyroidism occurs when the TSH is suppressed but the T4 and T3 levels are normal.More

Safety recommendations for I-131 vary among health care providers
Endocrine Today
New data highlight disparities in safety recommendations provided to patients after administration of radioactive iodine therapy for thyroid disease, leading the American Thyroid Association to push for more guideline standardization. National safety recommendations for treatment after radioactive iodine (I-131) do not exist.More

Tainted water raises risk of thyroid cancer
USA Today
Drinking Tokyo's radioactive tap water could lead to a slight increase in thyroid cancer risk over the course of a lifetime, especially in young girls, according to a preliminary assessment by a leading risk analyst. The analysis found that the amount of radioactivity found in Tokyo's tap water could cause approximately six excess thyroid cancers for every 10,000 one-year-old girls and one for every 10,000 boys of the same age, says Owen Hoffman, of the consulting firm SENES Oak Ridge, which has evaluated the cancer risk of fallout from Cold War nuclear tests for the National Cancer Institute.More

Experts: Japan's radioactive food contamination bans
USA Today
Contaminated milk, spinach and other greens have emerged as the latest radiological worry in Japan's continuing struggle with nuclear reactors damaged in the March 11 earthquake. Tap water in one village near the Fukashima Dai-ichi facility has also tested positive for excessive traces of radioactive iodine, triggering a ban on its use for drinking.More

Scientists lack complete answers on radiation risk
The Associated Press via Houston Chronicle
Thyroid cancer for sure. Leukemia, probably. Too much radiation can raise the risk of developing cancer years down the road, scientists agree, and the young are most vulnerable. But just how much or how long an exposure is risky is not clear. Those are among the unknowns scientists are contemplating as the crisis unfolds at Japan's stricken nuclear power plant.More

US expert societies discourage purchasing, hoarding potassium iodide
Endocrine Today
Individuals living in the United States are discouraged from "needlessly purchasing or hoarding potassium iodide" in the absence of a clear risk for exposure to radiation. In the wake of the earthquake and subsequent tsunami and nuclear reactor accident in Japan, the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists, American Thyroid Association, Society of Nuclear Medicine and The Endocrine Society released a joint statement on radiation risks to health.More