Evaluation of incidental thyroid nodules in patients with primary melanoma.

AIM: Literature data have suggested an increase of incidental thyroid nodules in patients with malignancies, including melanoma. METHODS: The ultrasound findings of 168 consecutive melanoma patients were revisited in order to evaluate the presence of incidental thyroid nodules and the results were compared with clinical features, Breslow thickness and the rate of malignancy of incidental thyroid nodules. RESULTS: We observed that: 1) incidental thyroid nodules are more frequent in patients affected by melanoma (60.6%) than in the healthy population; 2) no statistically significant difference were found in thyroid involvement on the basis of gender and age; 3) incidental thyroid nodules frequency is increased in patients with thinner melanoma and this increase is more evident if we consider melanoma in situ and female patients; 4) it was not detected malignant incidental thyroid nodules. CONCLUSION: The data revealed a high frequency of incidental thyroid nodules in patients with melanoma, suggesting that it is necessary to study this association in a larger group of patients, also including age/gender matched controls.