A review of thyroid cancer treatment methods

Thyroid cancer is a type of adenocarcinoma. The characteristics of this type of cancer are that it develops quickly and is very harmful, and it is more likely to cause cancer cell metastasis. Fortunately, the hope of curing thyroid cancer is still relatively high. So, how should thyroid cancer be treated? The following is a review of this issue.

Basic treatment for thyroid cancer

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.