Introduction: Thyroid nodules are a common clinical problem. Their incidence increases on ultrasound to reach 18%-68% of asymptomatic individuals. The most important aspect of management of thyroid nodules is excluding malignancy which occurs in 5-15% of all thyroid nodules. Since the most common presentation of thyroid cancer is the presence of asymptomatic thyroid nodule or mass. Different imaging modalities play a role in diagnosing thyroid nodules ; ultrasound remains the most common sensitive and non-invasive diagnostic imaging modality for thyroid lesions, however, MRI with DWI is emerging as another noninvasive imaging modality for differentiating benign and malignant lesions , helping in tumor staging and detection of post-operative recurrent or residual masses.
The aim of our study was to evaluate the role of diffusion weighted MRI in primarily differentiating benign and malignant thyroid nodules.
Subjects and methods: Our study included 23 patients with suspicious thyroid lesions referred from the endocrinology, Otorhinolaryngology and head and neck departments to the Radiology department of Alexandria Main University Hospitals for MR with DW imaging. The findings were correlated with histopathology results from FNAC and/or thyroidectomy or excisional biopsy from lymph nodes. 19 of the cases were presenting with thyroid swelling under investigation for the first time, the remaining four were presenting with recurrent lesions after thyroidectomy.