Dictionary of Cancer Terms
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Cold nodule (KOLD NOD-yool)
When radioactive material is used to examine the thyroid with a scanner, nodules that collect less radioactive material than the surrounding thyroid tissue are considered "cold." A nodule that is cold does not make thyroid hormone. Cold nodules may be benign (not cancer) or malignant (cancer). Cold nodules are sometimes called hypofunctioning nodules.
Source: National Cancer Institute Dictionary of Cancer Terms, available at www.cancer.gov/dictionary.