Treatment of thyroid cancer [Treatment] Treatment of thyroid cancer includes: Surgery: usually the first step in the treatment of thyroid cancer. Radioactive iodine removal of residual thyroid gland (nail clearing): to be performed in many patients with differentiated thyroid cancer. Thyroid hormone replacement or supplemental therapy: required for patients who have had all or part of their thyroid gland removed. External radiation therapy: required for a small number of patients. Chemotherapy, including novel targeted agents and clinical drug trials: required for a small number of patients. Other treatments: radiofrequency ablation and percutaneous alcohol injection are required in exceptional cases. Treatment options vary depending on the patient’s actual condition (including type of thyroid cancer, whether lymph node metastases or distant metastases occur, age at diagnosis and other influencing factors). It is important to remember that the goal of treatment is to remove all or most of the thyroid cancer and to help prevent the cancer from recurring or metastasizing. Treating thyroid cancer often requires a combination of two or more treatments. Please discuss your condition with your doctor to find out which treatments are recommended and the specific reasons for them. Introduction to surgical treatment】 This article will focus on surgical treatment of thyroid cancer, while other treatments will be introduced in subsequent articles. Surgery is usually the first step in the treatment of thyroid cancer and is the most frequently used treatment. Sometimes, surgery is the only treatment option. The surgeon will likely use the following surgical procedures to remove the thyroid cancer as completely as possible: lobectomy: Removal of the thyroid lobe on one side of the thyroid cancer. Pathology may also be performed on the lymph nodes in this area to determine if there are metastases. Subtotal thyroidectomy: Removal of almost all of the thyroid gland, leaving only a small portion. Total thyroidectomy: Removal of the entire thyroid gland. Lymph node dissection or neck dissection: Removal of lymph nodes in the neck where thyroid cancer has metastasized. It is often divided into a central lymph node dissection and a lateral lymph node dissection. It is important to remember that the best surgical results and the fewest complications are achieved when performed by an experienced thyroid surgeon. Experience means performing more than 100 thyroid surgeries per year. When a patient meets with a surgeon, ask that surgeon how often he or she performs thyroid surgery and, in particular, how often he or she performs thyroid cancer surgery. The first surgery is the most important part of treatment.