Thyroid cancer includes 4 major types: papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC), follicular thyroid carcinoma (FTC), medullary thyroid cancer (MTC), and undifferentiated carcinoma (ATC). anaplastic thyroid cancer (ATC). PTC and FTC, collectively known as differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC), account for more than 90% of all thyroid cancers, are less malignant, and have better patient outcomes.
The main treatment options for thyroid cancer include:
- Surgery, which usually includes thyroid gland excision and lymph node dissection in the neck.
- Radioactive iodine (RAI) therapy, for DTC, takes advantage of the iodine uptake properties of thyroid tissue and destroys postoperative remnants of cancer tissue with radioactive iodine.
- Endocrine therapy (also called TSH suppression therapy), TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone) is a hormone secreted by the pituitary gland that has the function of regulating thyroid cell proliferation and hormone secretion. Suppressing TSH at lower levels suppresses thyroid hormone on the one hand and reduces the risk of recurrence on the other.
- External radiation therapy, or “radiation therapy,” uses radiation to kill the tumor. Radiation therapy is not effective for most thyroid cancers and is not commonly used.
- Targeted therapies, which target specific “targets” carried by the tumor to kill cancer cells with precision, are available for advanced, difficult-to-treat DTC and advanced MTC, but are not yet commonly used.
- Chemotherapy, which uses chemical drugs to kill cancer cells in the body. Chemotherapy is an adjuvant treatment for advanced thyroid cancer and is generally only used for undifferentiated/lowly differentiated cancer.
Among these, standardized surgical treatment (thyroidectomy + neck lymph node dissection) remains the treatment of choice for all types of thyroid cancer. Your doctor will choose the most appropriate treatment option for you after a thorough evaluation of your disease.
Please click on the following links to learn more about how to treat each type of thyroid cancer:
Co-written by Dr. Weibo Xu, Cancer Hospital of Fudan University