Information for Patients
Overview of Thyroid Nodules
If you have recently been diagnosed with a thyroid nodule, learning all that you can will help you and your doctor make more informed decisions about what to do next.
What is a thyroid nodule?
The thyroid is a small, butterfly-shaped gland located in the neck. The thyroid gland plays an important role in the body, releasing hormones that help the body use energy; stay warm; and keep the brain, heart, muscles, and other organs working properly.
Nodules are abnormal growths of cells that form a lump in the thyroid gland.
They are extremely common, although why they occur is unknown. Fortunately, most thyroid nodules are harmless and not cancerous—more than 90% of thyroid nodules are benign (not cancerous).
Thyroid cancer is a disease involving thyroid cells that reproduce and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant (cancerous) tumors that invade nearby parts of the thyroid gland and can spread into adjacent tissues and lymph nodes. Most cases of thyroid cancer can be cured with surgical and therapeutic treatments.
How do you determine if a thyroid nodule is benign (non-cancerous) or malignant (cancerous)?
A thyroid fine needle aspiration (FNA), also known as a biopsy, is often used to help determine a diagnosis. The FNA procedure is simple and usually is performed in the doctor’s office or ultrasound department of a hospital. The cells from the biopsy are sent to a lab to be tested by a pathologist, a doctor who specializes in diagnosing diseases by viewing cells under a microscope. In most cases, a pathologist will be able to tell if the nodule is benign or malignant. In some cases, however, the pathologist is unable to make a diagnosis because the cells removed during the FNA procedure were not clearly benign or malignant. This is known as an indeterminate or inconclusive result, which occurs in about 25% of the thyroid biopsies performed.
Get the whole picture with molecular testing
Doctors now have better options to assess indeterminate thyroid nodules using molecular testing. Your doctor can request that the sample of your cells taken with a fine needle aspiration (FNA) be tested with ThyGeNEXT® and ThyraMIR®v2 oncogene panels, which are highly sophisticated tests that detect genetic abnormalities within your thyroid nodule.
When used together, these advanced tests are helpful in providing the most accurate information about the risk of an indeterminate thyroid nodule developing cancer, so you and your doctor can determine the best course of action for you. Molecular testing can help you avoid surgery and the anxiety and costs that go along with it.
Molecular Diagnostic Testing for Thyroid Nodules
Why molecular diagnostic testing? In the past, an inconclusive or indeterminate test result often led to recommendations for surgery to remove all or part of the thyroid nodule. Today, molecular diagnostic testing can help people get the best treatment by better understanding whether or not a thyroid nodule is likely to become cancerous.
Doctors now have better options to assess indeterminate thyroid nodules using molecular testing. Your doctor can request that the sample of your cells taken with a fine needle aspiration (FNA) be tested with ThyGeNEXT® and ThyraMIR®v2, which are highly sophisticated tests that detect genetic abnormalities within your thyroid nodule. When used together, these advanced tests are helpful in providing the most accurate information about the risk of an indeterminate thyroid nodule developing cancer, so you and your doctor can determine the best course of action for you. For this reason, molecular testing can help you avoid surgery if the testing determines that your nodule is most likely benign (non-cancerous).
Financial Assistance
Interpace Diagnostics is committed to providing patients with access to personalized medicine, regardless of their personal financial situation. We are proud to offer the NAVIGATOR Patient Support program, a resource to help guide patients through the process of obtaining and paying for molecular testing.
Our NAVIGATOR team will help provide benefits analysis and investigation, explain available financial support options—including the COMPASS* Financial Assistance program—and address any questions about Interpace Diagnostics tests and services.
Contact the NAVIGATOR team to start understanding how Interpace Diagnostics can help.
Phone: 866.316.0020
Email: navigator@interpace.com
*COMPASS is not available to patients covered by Medicare, Medicaid, or any other government program, or where the program is restricted or prohibited by contractual obligation, or federal or state law. COMPASS is only available to patients within the United States.
FAQs
A thyroid fine needle aspiration (FNA) is a procedure that uses a very thin needle to remove cells from your thyroid nodule in order to determine if it is benign (non-cancerous) or malignant (cancerous).
Please contact your doctor with any questions that you may have regarding your test results. By law, Interpace Diagnostics is unable to provide any test or result information directly to patients.
ThyGeNEXT® + ThyraMIR®v2 are covered by Medicare and many health insurance plans. Coverage, however, can differ. Our NAVIGATOR Patient Support program is a resource that can help guide you through the process of obtaining and paying for molecular testing. The NAVIGATOR team will help provide benefits analysis and investigation, explain available financial support options—including the COMPASS* Financial Assistance program—and address any questions about Interpace Diagnostics tests and services.
Contact the NAVIGATOR team to start understanding how Interpace Diagnostics can help.
Phone: 866.316.0020
Email: navigator@interpace.com
Additional Resources
Understand Your Rights
There are rules to help protect people from surprise medical bills and payment disputes.
