Radiation therapy for thyroid carcinoma:
- Radioiodine therapy: after resection (surgical removal) of the equilateral thyroid lobe and regional lymph nodes in papillary carcinoma or total thyroidectomy (thyroidectomy) with lymph node extirpation (lymph node removal) for follicular carcinoma, as well as metastases (daughter tumors), should be followed by radioiodine therapy as posttreatment.This is a form of radiation therapy in which radioactive iodine is administered. It leads to a selective destruction of the carcinoma cells (cancer cells) (see under “radioiodine therapy“).
- The result of radioiodine therapy is subsequently checked by iodine-131 whole-body scintigraphy (detection or exclusion of residual thyroidal components, iodine-storing recurrences or iodine-storing metastases in papillary and follicular thyroid carcinoma) and control of thyroglobulin (determination of serum levels).
- If by the above therapy regime in follicular and papillary thyroid carcinoma has not been successful, external radiotherapy (from outside) is performed in exceptional cases.
- In undifferentiated (anaplastic) thyroid carcinoma, external beam radiotherapy is first-line therapy. Surgery is indicated (indicated) only if the tumor is localized.
