A randomized trial comparing health-related quality-of-life and utility measures between routine fine-needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) and surveillance alone in patients with thyroid incidentaloma measuring 1-2 cm.

When compared with watchful surveillance, FNAC intervention was associated with better vitality and physical-related HRQOL scores but did not provide better preservation of utility score improvement over the 18-month period. These findings support the routine FNAC approach for nodules that have a low-suspicion sonographic pattern and measure between 1.0 and 2.0 cm.