eMedicine Specialties > Endocrinology > Thyroid

Goiter, Toxic Nodular

Author: Anu Bhalla Davis, MD, Assistant Professor, Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Diabetes, Endocrinology, and Metabolism, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston
Coauthor(s): Philip R Orlander, MD, Interim Chair of Medicine, Director of Endocrinology and Metabolism Fellowship, Director and Professor, Department of Medicine, Division of Endocrinology, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston; Asra Kermani, MBBS, Postdoctoral Fellow, Center for Human Nutrition, University of Texas Southwestern Medical School
Contributor Information and Disclosures

Updated: Jun 4, 2009

Introduction

Background

A toxic nodular goiter (TNG) is a thyroid gland that contains autonomously functioning thyroid nodules, with resulting hyperthyroidism. TNG, or Plummer's disease, was first described by Henry Plummer in 1913. TNG is the second most common cause of hyperthyroidism in the Western world, after Graves disease. In elderly individuals and in areas of endemic iodine deficiency, TNG is the most common cause of hyperthyroidism.

Pathophysiology

Toxic nodular goiter (TNG) represents a spectrum of disease ranging from a single hyperfunctioning nodule (toxic adenoma) within a multinodular thyroid to a gland with multiple areas of hyperfunction. The natural history of a multinodular goiter involves variable growth of individual nodules; this may progress to hemorrhage and degeneration, followed by healing and fibrosis. Calcification may be found in areas of previous hemorrhage. Some nodules may develop autonomous function. Autonomous hyperactivity is conferred by somatic mutations of the thyrotropin, or thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH), receptor in 20-80% of toxic adenomas and some nodules of multinodular goiters.1  Autonomously functioning nodules may become toxic in 10% of patients. Hyperthyroidism predominantly occurs when single nodules are larger than 2.5 cm in diameter. Signs and symptoms of TNG are similar to those of other types of hyperthyroidism.

Frequency

United States

Toxic nodular goiter accounts for approximately 15-30% of cases of hyperthyroidism in the United States, second only to Graves disease.

International

In areas of endemic iodine deficiency, toxic nodular goiter (TNG) accounts for approximately 58% of cases of hyperthyroidism, 10% of which are from solitary toxic nodules. Graves disease accounts for 40% of cases of hyperthyroidism. In patients with underlying nontoxic multinodular goiter, initial iodine supplementation (or iodinated contrast agents) can lead to hyperthyroidism (Jod-Basedow effect). Iodinated drugs, such as amiodarone, may also induce hyperthyroidism in patients with underlying nontoxic multinodular goiter. Roughly 3% of patients treated with amiodarone in the United States (more in areas of iodine deficiency) develop amiodarone-induced hyperthyroidism.2

Mortality/Morbidity

Morbidity and mortality from toxic nodular goiter (TNG) may be divided into problems related to hyperthyroidism and problems related to growth of the nodules and gland. Local compression problems due to nodule growth, although unusual, include dyspnea, hoarseness, and dysphagia.

TNG is more common in elderly adults; therefore, complications due to comorbidities, such as coronary artery disease, are significant in the management of hyperthyroidism.

Sex

Toxic nodular goiter occurs more commonly in women than in men. In women and men older than 40 years, the prevalence rate of palpable nodules is 5-7% and 1-2%, respectively.

Age

Most patients with toxic nodular goiter (TNG) are older than 50 years.

Thyrotoxicosis often occurs in patients with a history of longstanding goiter. Toxicity occurs in a subset of patients who develop autonomous function. This toxicity usually peaks in the sixth and seventh decades of life, especially in persons with a family history of multinodular goiter or TNG, suggesting a genetic component.

Clinical

History

  • Thyrotoxic symptoms - Most patients with toxic nodular goiter (TNG) present with symptoms typical of hyperthyroidism, including heat intolerance, palpitations, tremor, weight loss, hunger, and frequent bowel movements.
    • Elderly patients may have more atypical symptoms, including the following:
      • Weight loss is the most common complaint in elderly patients with hyperthyroidism.
      • Anorexia and constipation may occur, in contrast to frequent bowel movements often reported by younger patients.
      • Dyspnea or palpitations may be a common occurrence.
      • Tremor also occurs but can be confused with essential senile tremor.
      • Cardiovascular complications occur commonly in elderly patients, and a history of atrial fibrillation, congestive heart failure, or angina may be present.
    • F Lahey, MD, first described apathetic hyperthyroidism in 1931; this is characterized by blunted affect, lack of hyperkinetic motor activity, and slowed mentation in a patient who is thyrotoxic.
  • Obstructive symptoms - A significantly enlarged goiter can cause symptoms related to mechanical obstruction.
    • A large substernal goiter may cause dysphagia, dyspnea, or frank stridor. Rarely, this goiter results in a surgical emergency.
    • Involvement of the recurrent or superior laryngeal nerve may result in complaints of hoarseness or voice change.
  • Asymptomatic - Many patients are asymptomatic or have minimal symptoms and are incidentally found to have hyperthyroidism during routine screening. The most common laboratory finding is a suppressed TSH with normal free thyroxine (T4) levels.

Physical

  • Findings of hyperthyroidism may be more subtle than those of Graves disease. Features may include widened, palpebral fissures; tachycardia; hyperkinesis; moist, smooth skin; tremor; proximal muscle weakness; and brisk deep tendon reflexes.
  • The size of the thyroid gland is variable. Large substernal glands may not be appreciable upon physical examination.
  • A dominant nodule or multiple irregular, variably sized nodules are typically present. In a small gland, multinodularity may be apparent only on an ultrasonogram. Chronic Graves disease may present with some nodularity; therefore, establishing the diagnosis is sometimes difficult.
  • Hoarseness or tracheal deviation may be present upon examination.
  • Mechanical obstruction may result in superior vena cava syndrome, with engorgement of facial and neck veins (Pemberton sign).3
  • Stigmata of Graves disease (eg, orbitopathy, pretibial myxedema, acropachy) are not observed.

Causes

Functional autonomy of the thyroid gland appears to be related to iodine deficiency. Various mechanisms have been implicated, but the molecular pathogenesis is poorly understood.

  • The sequence of events leading to toxic multinodular goiter is as follows:
    • Iodine deficiency leads to low levels of T4; this induces thyroid cell hyperplasia to compensate for the low levels of T4.
    • Increased thyroid cell replication predisposes single cells to somatic mutations of the TSH receptor. Constitutive activation of the TSH receptor may generate autocrine factors that promote further growth, resulting in clonal proliferation. Cell clones then produce multiple nodules.
  • Somatic mutations of the TSH receptors and G a protein confer constitutive activation to the cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) cascade of the inositol phosphate pathways. These mutations may be responsible for functional autonomy of the thyroid in 20-80% of cases.1
    • These mutations are found in autonomously functioning thyroid nodules, solitary and within a multinodular gland. Nonfunctioning thyroid nodules within the same gland lack these mutations.
    • The reported frequency of these mutations varies widely, ranging from 10-80%. Higher incidence is reported in patients with iodine deficiency.
  • In addition to somatic mutations, polymorphisms of the TSH receptor have been studied in patients with toxic nodular goiter (TNG); notably, polymorphisms involving the carboxyl-terminal tail of the human TSH receptor have been found in nodular and genomic deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA).
    • Unlike the somatic mutations found in autonomously functioning nodules, these mutations have also been found in other cell lines, indicating a germline mutation. One of these, D727E, was present with greater frequency in patients with TNG than in healthy individuals; this suggests that this polymorphism may be associated with the disease.4,5
    • The presence of the heterozygous state for the D727E variant of the human TSH receptor alone is not sufficient for the development of the TNG. Approximately 10% of healthy individuals have this polymorphism.
  • Possible mediators in growth include the following:
    • Endothelin-1 (ET-1) production is increased in rat thyroid glands that have undergone hyperplasia; this suggests that ET-1 production may be involved in thyroid gland growth and vascularity. In contrast to normal thyroid tissue and papillary thyroid cancer, thyroid tissue in patients with TNG shows markedly positive staining of the stroma but absent staining of the follicular cells. The significance of this finding is unclear, but ET-1 is, in addition to being a vasoconstrictor, a mitogen for vascular endothelium, smooth muscle cells, and thyroid follicular cells.
    • In vitro systems have shown stimulation of thyroid follicular cell proliferation with insulinlike growth factor-1, epidermal growth factor, and fibroblast growth factor. Reduced concentrations of transforming growth factor-b 1 or resistance to transforming growth factor-b have also been associated with follicular cell growth. The role of these multiple factors in the growth and secretory function of TNG needs further investigation.

More on Goiter, Toxic Nodular

Overview: Goiter, Toxic Nodular
Differential Diagnoses & Workup: Goiter, Toxic Nodular
Treatment & Medication: Goiter, Toxic Nodular
Follow-up: Goiter, Toxic Nodular
Multimedia: Goiter, Toxic Nodular
References
Further Reading
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References

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Further Reading

Related eMedicine topics:
 Hyperthyroidism [Endocrinology]
Hyperthyroidism [Pediatrics: General Medicine]
Hyperthyroidism, Thyroid Storm, and Graves Disease
Hypothyroidism [Endocrinology]
Hypothyroidism [Pediatrics: General Medicine]
Iodine Deficiency
Thyroid Dysfunction Induced by Amiodarone Therapy

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Keywords

toxic nodular goiter, goiter, TNG, toxic multinodular goiter, hyperthyroidism, hyperthyroid, Plummer disease, Plummer's disease, toxic uninodular goiter, autonomously functioning thyroid nodule, toxic adenoma, Graves disease, Graves' disease, iodine deficiency, Jod-Basedow phenomenon, Jod-Basedow effect, Jod-Basedow's effect, hyperfunctioning nodule, multinodular thyroid, underlying nontoxic multinodular goiter, amiodarone, amiodarone-induced hyperthyroidism, thyrotoxicosis, apathetic hyperthyroidism, suppressed thyroid-stimulating hormone, TSH, TSH receptors, superior vena cava syndrome, hyperplasia, cyclic adenosine monophosphate, cAMP, thyroxine, T4, iodine-induced hyperthyroidism, triiodothyronine, T3, micronodular growth patterns, follicles, D727E, endothelin-1, ET-1

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Contributor Information and Disclosures

Author

Anu Bhalla Davis, MD, Assistant Professor, Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Diabetes, Endocrinology, and Metabolism, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston
Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Coauthor(s)

Philip R Orlander, MD, Interim Chair of Medicine, Director of Endocrinology and Metabolism Fellowship, Director and Professor, Department of Medicine, Division of Endocrinology, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston
Philip R Orlander, MD is a member of the following medical societies: American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists, American Diabetes Association, Endocrine Society, and Texas Medical Association
Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Asra Kermani, MBBS, Postdoctoral Fellow, Center for Human Nutrition, University of Texas Southwestern Medical School
Asra Kermani, MBBS is a member of the following medical societies: American College of Physicians-American Society of Internal Medicine
Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Medical Editor

Robert A Gabbay, MD, PhD, Associate Professor of Medicine, Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism, Laurence M Demers Career Development Professor, Penn State College of Medicine; Director, Diabetes Program, Penn State Milton S Hershey Medical Center; Executive Director, Penn State Institute for Diabetes and Obesity
Robert A Gabbay, MD, PhD is a member of the following medical societies: American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists, American Diabetes Association, and Endocrine Society
Disclosure: Novo Nordisk Honoraria Speaking and teaching; Merck Honoraria Speaking and teaching

Pharmacy Editor

Francisco Talavera, PharmD, PhD, Senior Pharmacy Editor, eMedicine
Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Managing Editor

Kent Wehmeier, MD, Professor, Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Metabolism, St Louis University School of Medicine
Kent Wehmeier, MD is a member of the following medical societies: American Society of Hypertension, Endocrine Society, and International Society for Clinical Densitometry
Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

CME Editor

Mark Cooper, MBBS, PhD, FRACP, Head, Diabetes & Metabolism Division, Baker Heart Research Institute, Professor of Medicine, Monash University
Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Chief Editor

George T Griffing, MD, Professor of Medicine, St Louis University School of Medicine
George T Griffing, MD is a member of the following medical societies: American Association for the Advancement of Science, American College of Medical Practice Executives, American College of Physician Executives, American College of Physicians, American Diabetes Association, American Federation for Medical Research, American Heart Association, Central Society for Clinical Research, Endocrine Society, International Society for Clinical Densitometry, and Southern Society for Clinical Investigation
Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

 
 
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