Palpable nodular disease is more common in women than men and is most likely to be discovered in patients between ages 21 and 40. The incidence of carcinoma found in STN is greater in men than women. STN occurring at extremes of age is more likely to be cancerous. In children, STN is malignant in 30 to 50 percent of cases. STN in a man over age 50 is much more likely to be malignant than STN in a woman of the same age.
Cancer can metastasize to the thyroid gland and present as a palpable nodule.
These patients may be more compelled to have the nodule thoroughly evaluated because of fear of an Exposure to Ionizing Radiation. Radiation of the head and neck region and the upper chest was frequently used in the mid-1950s and 1960s to treat conditions ranging from cystic acne to adenotonsillar hypertrophy. An increased incidence of thyroid nodules has been reported in association with low to high doses of radiation in the head and neck region. Also, STN is more likely to be malignant in a patient with a history of irradiation. The incidence of malignancy in thyroid nodules in patients with a history of radiation ranges from 30 to 50 percent.