Can serve as a guide for biopsy. It can be useful to view the radiograph and CT scan together. An enlarged thyroid is a non-specific neck mass radiographically. The thyroid is easy to visualize on CT scan because of its high iodine content. The presence or absence of calcification is not helpful in this regard.
Nuclear medicine plays a key role.
I recently returned from a meeting in which the speaker felt that the three largest nodules should be biopsied to exclude carcinoma. 131-Iodine is used to treat hyperthyroidism and to ablate the thyroid after cancer surgery. Laboratory tests are important in diagnosing thyroid disease. Ultrasound also plays a key role. It can distinguish cystic from solid lesions.