What is a thyroid tumor?

The incidence of thyroid tumors is low, accounting for about 1% of the incidence of all tumors in humans, and is more prevalent in females, with a prevalence of about (5-9/100,000) compared to (2-4/100,000) in males. In general, the prognosis of thyroid tumors is good. Conventional treatment includes total or subtotal thyroidectomy and, if necessary, postoperative treatment with radioactive iodine. Radioactive iodine can be concentrated in residual or even diffuse iodine uptake-capable thyroid cells via the sodium-iodine transporter, which destroys residual thyroid tumor cells by endogenous radiation. Another approach that is now commonly used is treatment with thyroid hormone, which inhibits TSH synthesis and secretion via the hypothalamic-pituitary-thyroid axis, thereby inhibiting the growth and distant metastasis of thyroid cells. However, thyroid tumors are not sensitive to conventional extracorporeal radiotherapy and chemotherapy.