[Surgical therapy of thyroid cancer]

There are controversial views and discussions on surgical treatment of thyroid cancer. A retrospective study covering the period from 1979 through 1988 has been conducted by the authors to analyse resective approaches to thyroid cancer. Operations were performed on papillary carcinoma in 37.6% and on follicular carcinoma in 31.8% of the cases. An overall five-year survival rate for differentiated thyroid cancer was recorded from 81.5%, with 100% in stage T1N0M0 (microcarcinoma) according to publications. Hence, much less radical procedures like hemithyroidectomy is fully supported by the authors for microcarcinoma. The total thyroidectomy only should be applied to differentiated thyroid cancer in the advanced stages, to medullary and anaplastic carcinoma.