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We reviewed the results of 2071 thyroidectomies performed during thepast 11 years at Uludag University School of Medicine Hospital. Of all the patients 1602 (77.4%) were women and 469 (22.6%) were men (F:M= 3.4:1). Seventy-eight of the thyroid surgery patients (3.77%) had thyroid carcinoma, with a female to male ratio of 2.0:1. The relativerisk of thyroid cancer in male versus female patients with thyroid nodules was determined to be 1.75:1. Patient distribution by thyroid carcinoma type was: papillary carcinoma 49%, follicular carcinoma 24%,undifferentiated carcinoma 10%, metastatic carcinoma 10%, and medullary carcinoma 6%. Fine needle aspiration biopsy (FNAB) has been used routinely in our hospital for the last 4 years. During this period, the average number of operations decreased from 201 to 130 per year and the surgical diagnosis of thyroid carcinoma increased from 2.85 to 7.65%. We conclude that papillary carcinoma is relatively less prevalent in our population and that fine needle aspiration biopsy is the preferred method of diagnosing nodular thyroid disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]