[Therapy of malignant tumors of the thyroid]

Early detection is still the most urgent concern for the successful treatment of carcinoma of the thyroid. A considerable obstruction to early tumor recognition in Germany is the still much too frequently recorded "endemic goiter". A consistent general goiter prophylaxis by iodization of the domestic salt may also have a favorable influence on tumor diagnosis. The basis for an exhaustively planned treatment of "struma maligna" is the histomorphological classification of tumors. By radical surgical intervention and the selective application of isotope and megavolt irradiation and obligatory prescription of thyroid hormone the treatment results, especially in the differentiated thyroid carcinomata, can be improved to 10-year survival rates of more than 85%.