Is it okay to treat thyroid cancer without chemotherapy?

Whether thyroid cancer can be treated without chemotherapy needs to be comprehensively judged based on factors such as the stage of thyroid cancer and pathological type. If thyroid cancer is in the early stage and is papillary or follicular, chemotherapy is usually not required. However, if thyroid cancer is in the middle or late stage or is undifferentiated cancer, chemotherapy may be required.

1. No need: Thyroid cancer is a malignant tumor originating from the thyroid follicular epithelium or parafollicular epithelial cells, and can be divided into papillary carcinoma, follicular carcinoma, medullary carcinoma and undifferentiated carcinoma. Papillary carcinoma and follicular carcinoma are low-grade malignant tumors, which generally develop slowly and have a good prognosis. Therefore, chemotherapy is usually not required for such patients;

2. Need: However, if thyroid cancer is already in the middle or late stages and there is lymph node metastasis, chemotherapy may be required at this time. Because the condition is more serious at this time, if it is not treated in time, it may cause the condition to worsen further and even endanger life. Chemotherapy is a systemic treatment method that uses chemical drugs to kill cancer cells to achieve the purpose of treatment. Therefore, for such patients, chemotherapy may be required according to the doctor's advice.

There are many clinical treatments for thyroid cancer, such as surgical treatment, radionuclide therapy, and iodine-131 therapy. Patients are advised to choose appropriate treatment methods under the guidance of a doctor and actively cooperate with the doctor for treatment.