Medical Oncology
Medical therapies may be provided for thyroid cancer and as a result of thyroid cancer treatment, including:
- Targeted therapies and chemotherapy: If thyroid cancer returns, a number of highly effective therapies are available. Chemotherapy may be used to treat the cancer, enhance radiation response, and ease symptoms. Targeted therapies are drugs or other substances that block the growth and spread of cancer by interfering with specific molecules, or molecular targets, that are involved in the growth, progression, and spread of cancer. Our team has led studies of numerous targeted therapies that have been shown to be effective in treating thyroid cancers. Patients with advanced and aggressive forms of thyroid cancer may access one of our clinical trials.
- Thyroid hormone therapy: Following thyroidectomy and radioactive iodine therapy, you may be prescribed thyroid hormone therapy to replace the thyroid hormones that your body needs but is no longer able to produce.
Radiation Therapy
Radiation therapy may be used in conjunction with surgery and medical therapy to optimize treatment results and ease symptoms. Our team treats a high volume of patients with thyroid cancer, and our radiation oncologists, radiation therapists, and physicists specialize in the treatment of thyroid cancer and other head and neck cancers.
- External beam radiation: Several external beam radiation techniques may be used to treat patients with thyroid cancer. Intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) is an external beam radiation therapy that precisely delivers radiation to the cancer site while minimizing radiation exposure and damage to normal surrounding tissues. In IMRT, the radiation dose can be customized by varying the amount of radiation given to different parts of the treatment area.
- Radioactive iodine (I-131): Radioactive iodine therapy uses a form of iodine that distributes radiation to treat common types of thyroid cancer. The thyroid gland absorbs iodine in the blood. When a large dose of radioactive iodine is taken, the radiation can destroy thyroid cancer cells with little effect on the rest of the body. Radioactive iodine is sometimes combined with external beam radiation. Together with surgery, these treatments have brought the cure rate for papillary and follicular thyroid cancers to more than 90 percent.
Treatment Options by Stage
Stage I and Stage II Papillary and Follicular Thyroid Cancer
- Total or near-total thyroidectomy or lobectomy
- Surgical removal of affected lymph nodes
- Radioactive iodine therapy may be given following surgery
- Thyroid hormone therapy
Stage III Papillary and Follicular Thyroid Cancer
- Total thyroidectomy
- Surgical removal of affected lymph nodes
- Radioactive iodine therapy or external radiation therapy may be given after surgery
- Thyroid hormone therapy
Stage IV Papillary and Follicular Thyroid Cancer
- Radioactive iodine therapy
- External-beam radiation therapy
- Surgical removal of affected lymph nodes and metastases
- Thyroid hormone therapy
- Clinical trial
Medullary Thyroid Cancer
- Total thyroidectomy for Stages I, II, and III
- Removal of affected lymph nodes for all stages
- External beam radiation therapy for Stages II, III, and IV
- Targeted therapy for Stage IV (metastatic medullary thyroid cancer)
- Chemotherapy to relieve symptoms and improve the quality of life for patients with Stage IV
Anaplastic Thyroid Cancer (always Stage IV)
- Total thyroidectomy (if thyroid cancer has not spread to other organs)
- Tracheostomy to relieve symptoms and improve quality of life
- External beam radiation therapy
- Chemotherapy
- Clinical trial
Your Hospital Care
Post-surgical and other inpatient care are provided by the Dana-Farber Brigham Cancer Center team either at Brigham and Women's Hospital or at Dana-Farber's Inpatient Hospital located within Brigham and Women's Hospital.
All outpatient therapy is provided at the Yawkey Center for Cancer Care at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, one of the most advanced outpatient cancer centers in the country.
Radiation Oncology has two separate units, one at Brigham and Women's Hospital and one at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.
