What are the treatment options for thyroid cancer

What are the options for thyroid cancer treatment? Modern medicine is developing rapidly, and the treatment methods for various diseases are no longer single. Especially for various difficult-to-eradicate cancer diseases, there are more innovations in treatment, and there are more treatment methods for different types of patients to choose from. So, what are the options for thyroid treatment?

Surgery is the basic treatment for all types of thyroid cancer except anaplastic cancer, and is assisted by the use of radionuclides, thyroid hormones, and external radiation therapy.

1. Surgery

Surgical treatment of thyroid cancer includes surgery on the thyroid gland itself and neck lymph node dissection. There is still disagreement on the extent of thyroidectomy, with the smallest range being lobe and isthmus resection and the largest being total thyroidectomy.

2. Endocrine therapy

Patients who have undergone subtotal or total thyroidectomy should take thyroxine tablets for life to prevent hypothyroidism and suppress TSH. Both papillary adenocarcinoma and follicular adenocarcinoma have TSH receptors, and TSH can affect the growth of thyroid cancer through its receptors. The general dosage is controlled to keep TSH levels low but not cause hyperthyroidism. You can use dried thyroid tablets, 80-120 mg per day, or levothyroxine tablets, 100 g per day, and regularly measure plasma T4 and TSH to adjust the dosage.

3. Radionuclide therapy

For papillary adenocarcinoma and follicular adenocarcinoma, iodine-131 radiotherapy is used after surgery. It is suitable for patients over 45 years old, those with multiple cancer foci, locally invasive tumors, and those with distant metastases.

4. External beam radiation therapy

Mainly used for anaplastic thyroid cancer.