Management of carcinoma of the thyroid

Greater precision has developed in recent decades in the selection of patients for operation for thyroid nodules suspicious for malignancy and in adapting operative procedures to the extent and pathologic variety of the individual thyroid carcinoma, when present. A thyroid lobectomy is considered to be the minimal operative procedure usually indicated for a suspicious thyroid nodule or carcinoma involving one lobe of the thyroid gland. Factors determining the extent of operation for thyroid carcinoma include the pathologic variety, gross distribution of the malignancy, and health status of the individual patient. Total or near total thyroidectomy should be considered for all patients with thyroid carcinoma except for single occult carcinomas and unilateral low grade angio-invasive carcinomas. Removal of lymph nodes in regions adjacent to the thyroid carcinoma is advisable, lateral neck dissections being reserved for patients with palpable lymphadenopathy, demonstrated metastases to lateral cervical lymph nodes, or a poorly differentiated carcinoma likely to metastasize to these lymph nodes. A modified radical lymph node dissection is satisfactory except for those carcinomas invading muscles in the neck. Anatomic neck dissections provide a better prognosis than incomplete lymph node procedures for patients with regional lymph node metastases. Following operation, patients should receive thyroid hormone therapy, be evaluated for possible treatment with radioactive iodine or other therapeutic measures, and be followed for evidence of recurrent disease as well as thyroid and parathyroid function. Adequate early operation is preferred to late ultraradical procedures, from standpoints of morbidity and prognosis. Unfavorable prognostic factors include extensive gross disease, poorly differentiated carcinoma present as the entire lesion or as foci in a differentiated carcinoma, and age over 40. With adequate surgical treatment, the prognosis for operable thyroid carcinoma is good.