Can thyroid nodule features on non-contrast CT scans be helpful in the evaluation of thyroid nodules incidentally found on PET/CT scans?

BACKGROUND Thyroid nodules are commonly found on medical imaging studies, such as Computerized Tomography (CT) scans, 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (18F-FDG) positron emission tomography/CT (PET/CT) scans, or other imaging studies, which are performed for another reason (ie. the test is ordered without knowledge of the presence of a thyroid nodule). When thyroid nodules are detected on imaging studies performed for another reason, these are referred to as thyroid ‘incidentalomas.’ One of the questions that comes up after detecting a thyroid incidentaloma, is whether the nodule may be a thyroid cancer, and this question often results in additional testing to address the concern. This study was performed to investigate whether, in thyroid incidentilomas detected on PET/CT scan, the detailed features of the nodule on this the imaging study could predict whether the nodule was a cancer or not.