institute for cancer research

Thyroid Cancer Treatment

Introduction

The thyroid cancer treatment is designed in accordance with a series of factors, related to the disease and patient history.

Papillary, follicular or mixed papillary and follicular forms of thyroid cancer are the most common, though types of thyroid cancer like lymphoma, medullary and anaplastic cancer also exist. Most of these forms of thyroid cancer are curable by treatment, except for the rare forms such as medullary thyroid cancer.

Treatment Options

The procedure to be followed for thyroid cancer treatment is planned in accordance with a number of factors such as the stage of the disease and the patient’s medical history and overall state of health.

The most common and effective forms of treatment followed for thyroid cancer treatment include surgery, radiation therapy, hormone therapy and chemotherapy.

Surgery is usually the first option followed for thyroid cancer treatment. The cancer is removed by the surgeon using one of the following types of operations:

i) Lobectomy - This procedure for thyroid cancer treatment removes only the side of the thyroid where the cancer is found. Lymph nodes in the area may be taken out to detect the presence of cancer.

ii) Thyroidectomy – This form of thyroid cancer treatment involves removal of whole of the thyroid, while near-to-total thyroidectomy involves removal of most of the thyroid except for a very small part.

iii)  Lymph node dissection – This form of surgery removes lymph nodes in the neck that carry cancer.

Apart from surgery, radiation therapy is also an effective option for thyroid cancer treatment. This type of treatment uses high energy x-rays to kill cancer cells and shrink tumors. For the purpose of thyroid cancer treatment, the radiation is either administered through a machine outside the body or through a liquid that contains radioactive iodine.

Meanwhile, hormone therapy is another alternative used for thyroid cancer treatment. This kind of therapy uses hormones to stop the cancer cells from growing. In the thyroid cancer treatment, hormones can be used to stop the body from making other hormones that might facilitate the growth of cancer cells. For the purpose of thyroid cancer treatment, such therapy is usually administered in the form of pills.

In addition, chemotherapy is also used for the thyroid cancer treatment. This kind of therapy uses drugs to kill cancer cells. Such treatment is also generally administered through pills. However, in some cases, chemotherapy might be administered through needles inserted into the vein or muscles.

In a few cases where standard treatment does not bring the desired results, the patients are also advised to participate in clinical trials being conducted for the purpose of validation of new treatments for thyroid cancer treatment. 

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