Tests, Treatments & Therapies for Thyroid Cancer

At the University of Colorado Cancer Center, we use the most minimally invasive approach possible for both diagnosis and treatment of thyroid cancer. We recognize that both work-up and management requires a multidisciplinary approach with numerous specialists working closely together.

We use both standard treatments and those being tested in clinical trials. You might consider participating in a trial, which are designed to improve current treatments or get information on new treatments. If a new treatment is proven better than the standard treatment, the new treatment may become the standard treatment.

Staging and Detection Tests

Tests are only as good as the doctors who report and interpret them. That’s why our doctors-who work together as your care team-are the highest trained specialists in the state.

Once a cancer has been diagnosed, it is very important for doctors to find out where the cancer may have spread (the “stage” of the cancer) to determine the best possible treatment plan for you. To find out, doctors use staging tests, which include:

• Different types of scans
• Different ways to take tissue samples to look for tumor cells microscopically (biopsy tests)

Scans and other tests may also be used:

• In a “surveillance program” looking for any signs of relapse after treatment
• In a “screening program” to detect cancer early in individuals at high-risk
• To monitor responses to treatment

Tests

Blood test – An analysis of a sample of blood to help diagnose or treat a disease.

Biopsy – The removal of cells or tissues so they can be viewed under a microscope to check for signs of cancer.

CT Scan (CAT scan) – A procedure that makes a series of detailed pictures of areas inside the body, taken from different angles. The pictures are made by a computer linked to an x-ray machine. A dye may be injected into a vein or swallowed to help the organs or tissues show up more clearly.

Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) – A procedure that uses a magnet, radio waves, and a computer to make a series of detailed pictures of areas inside the body.

Positron Emission Tomography (PET scan) – An imaging test used most often to detect cancer and to examine the effects of cancer therapy. Patients are injected with a radioactive substance before undergoing the scan. Cancerous tissue will accumulate more of the substance and appear brighter than normal tissue on the PET images.

Ultrasound – An imaging method in which high-frequency sound waves are used to outline a part of the body. The sound wave echoes are picked up and displayed on a television screen. Doctors use the image for assessment and diagnosis of various thyroid problems.

X-ray – An x-ray is a type of energy beam that can go through the body and onto film, making a picture of areas inside the body.

---

Treatments

Surgery

A procedure to remove the tumor. It is the most common treatment for thyroid cancer and is done by one of the following operations:

• lobectomy – removes only the side of the thyroid where the cancer is found
• near-total thyroidectomy – removes all of the thyroid except for one small part
• total thyroidectomy – removes the entire thyroid
• lymph node dissection – removes lymph nodes in the neck that contain cancer

Hormone replacement therapy

Hormones are prescribed to replace those that are no longer produced after the thyroid is removed. You will need to take a hormone replacement pill daily for the rest of your life.

Radioactive Iodine Therapy

Radioactive iodine administered orally in capsule form. Patients receiving this treatment are placed in isolation either at the hospital or at home to reduce possible contamination to others.

External Beam Radiation

Treatment with high-energy rays that are focused to a specific area to destroy cancer cells that could not be removed surgically or destroyed with radioiodine therapy.

Chemotherapy and other drug-based treatments

Anti-cancer drug treatments: Chemotherapy - and new “targeted therapies" - involve using drugs that kill, slow down or damage cancer cells. Many new drugs are being developed.

View current cancer clinical trials available at UCCC.

Anti-cancer drug treatments may involve:

• Single drugs or combinations of drugs
• Intravenous injections or tablets/capsules
• Taking the drugs in repeating patterns, called “cycles," that usually last three to four weeks
• Taking some drugs every day or only on a few days within the cycles
• Taking other medicines to reduce or eliminate side effects associated with chemotherapy
• Taking targeted therapies, often with very little side effects, on their own or in combination with standard chemotherapy
• Access to new drugs or vaccines on their own, or added into standard treatments, in clinical trials

Chemotherapy and targeted therapies can:

• Be given before surgery to make the operation easier
• Be given in combination with radiotherapy to make both treatments more effective
• Be given after surgery to reduce the chances of cancer coming back
• Successfully control advanced cancer and many cancer-related symptoms

---

Clinical Trials

The goal of clinical research is to improve treatment outcomes and reduce treatment side effects or long-term toxicities. Clinical trials provide the latest treatments because they evaluate:

• New drugs
• New combinations of therapies
• New treatment delivery methods

Because we’re the Rocky Mountain region's only National Cancer Institute (NCI)-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center - one of only 39 in the United States - your treatment will always include the latest and most comprehensive care options.

Learn more about clinical trials at UCCC