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Thyroid Cancer

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Surgical Oncology Manual

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Abstract

Thyroid carcinoma can be divided into four subtypes: papillary, follicular, medullary, and anaplastic. The decision whether to perform a hemi-thyroidectomy or total thyroidectomy for patients with differentiated thyroid cancer depends on the following factors: size of the lesion, presence of extra-thyroidal extension, lymph node metastases, family history of thyroid cancer, and history of neck radiation. Postoperative management of differentiated thyroid cancer includes consideration of radioactive iodine therapy, external beam radiation, and TSH suppression with levothyroxine. Medullary thyroid cancer is less common than differentiated thyroid cancer. Surgical management includes total thyroidectomy with bilateral central compartment neck dissection with consideration of ipsilateral functional compartmental neck dissection. Postoperative management includes external beam radiation treatment. Anaplastic thyroid cancer usually presents at an advanced stage and surgery usually plays a very limited role in management.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Fellow, General Surgical Oncology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada

    Vanessa Palter M.D., Ph.D., F.R.C.S.C.

  2. Department of Surgery, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada

    Karen Devon M.D.,M.Sc.,F.R.C.S.C.,F.A.C.S. & Lorne E. Rotstein M.D., F.A.C.S., F.R.C.S.C.

  3. Department of Surgery, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia

    Robert Tasevski M.B.B.S., M.Sc., F.R.A.C.S.

Authors
  1. Vanessa Palter M.D., Ph.D., F.R.C.S.C.
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  2. Karen Devon M.D.,M.Sc.,F.R.C.S.C.,F.A.C.S.
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  3. Lorne E. Rotstein M.D., F.A.C.S., F.R.C.S.C.
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  4. Robert Tasevski M.B.B.S., M.Sc., F.R.A.C.S.
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Vanessa Palter M.D., Ph.D., F.R.C.S.C. .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Surgery, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

    Frances C. Wright

  2. Department of Surgery, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

    Jaime Escallon

  3. Department of Surgical Oncology, National Cancer Institute, Panama City, Panama

    Moises Cukier

  4. General Surgical Oncology, University of Toronto, 1X5, Ontario, Canada

    Melanie E. Tsang

  5. General Surgical Oncology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

    Usmaan Hameed

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© 2016 University of Toronto General Surgery Oncology Program

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Palter, V., Devon, K., Rotstein, L.E., Tasevski, R. (2016). Thyroid Cancer. In: Wright, F., Escallon, J., Cukier, M., Tsang, M., Hameed, U. (eds) Surgical Oncology Manual. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-26276-5_23

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-26276-5_23

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-26274-1

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-26276-5

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