Thyroid Radiation Therapy

Therapeutic nuclear medicine has come a long way over the last decade. More than 20 million Americans now benefit each year from nuclear medicine procedures used to diagnose and treat a wide variety of diseases (SNMMI and Safe/Beneficial Medical Uses of Radiation, 2017).

Anaplastic thyroid carcinoma (ATC) is the rarest, most devastating form of thyroid malignancy. Also known as undifferentiated thyroid carcinoma, it makes up only 1-2% of all thyroid cancers but is responsible for the majority of thyroid cancer-related deaths3,9,10.

At this time, it is not clear how much diagnostic radiation is contributing to the increase in thyroid cancer cases. It is possible that the increase in the diagnosis of thyroid cancer can be attributed to a greater rate of detection by use of ultrasonography and fine needle aspiration3. The thyroid tissue itself is among the tissues that are less sensitive to radiation, however, thyroid cancer is still such a concern because the thyroid is so superficial in the body1 (77). “Even doses as small as 50–100 mGy have been associated with an increased risk of thyroid malignancy in children, with a

Hypothyroidism is a condition where the thyroid does not produce enough of the hormones that are required to maintain metabolism (Harvard School of Medicine, 2007).

The main goal of the treatment is to control the over-production o thyroid hormones. The anti-thyroid medications, for instance, have methimazole and propylthiouracil (PTU), which blocks the production of hormones of the thyroid gland. However, there could be some side effects such as allergies and hyperthyroidism may return if the drug is not being used. Sometimes, radioactive iodine treatment is preferred by doctor because it provides a long-term solution, unlike the medications. According to Toft, “Radioactive iodine works by destroying thyroid tissue cells, thereby reducing your thyroid hormone levels.” RAI is usually given as a capsule or in a water-based solution, and the treatment may take months to be effective. The last type of treatment is the thyroidectomy, which is a surgery. The removal of the thyroid gland may be required for some patients that cannot take or tolerate the medications or when those medications have no effect in controlling the overproduction of T3 and T4. Although the total removal of the thyroid gland treats most of the patients, the surgery always results in hypothyroidism, which is a condition where the body lacks sufficient thyroid hormones. In this case, patients that undergo total thyroidectomy need to intake a daily

Thyroid cancer does not begin with major symptoms and cannot be avoided or prevented. When the cancer begins to grow, the symptoms become more apparent and diagnosis is easier. Some of the symptoms include; a lump in the neck, hoarseness in the voice, swollen lymph nodes, difficulty swallowing or breathing, and pain in the

Have you ever wondered why so many people in Chernobyl get thyroid cancer? Radiation was passed on from cows. Thyroid cancer is curable but, it can come back after treatment. The most common type of thyroid cancer is Papillary thyroid cancer. The most rare thyroid cancer to have is Anaplastic. Radiation from chernobyl caused people to get thyroid cancer.

The aggressiveness of each type of thyroid cancer is different. There are four main stages in each of the types of thyroid cancer except for anaplastic cancer (Rubin 91). In the stage I of papillary and follicular thyroid cancer, the cancer is located only in the thyroid and may be found in one or both of the lobes. In stage II if the patients are younger than 45 years of age, the cancer has spread beyond the thyroid. But if the patient is older than 45 years of age, the cancer is only in the thyroid and is larger than 1 centimeter. In stage III, the cancer is usually found in patients older than 45 years of age and has spread outside of the thyroid or has spread to the lymph nodes but not outside of the neck. In stage IV, the cancer is again usually found in patients over the age of 45. It most likely has spread to other parts of the

Medullary thyroid cancer is an indolent neuroendocrine tumor that frequently presents with disseminated disease. While locally advanced tumor in the neck and mediastinum can be treated with surgery either for palliative or curative intent, distant metastases are not often amenable to operative excision. Metastatic MTC has a similarly poor response to radiotherapy and chemotherapy. Viable therapeutic options for distant metastatic disease are still absent. Survival rate after discovery of distant metastasis has been around 25% at 5 years and 10% after 10 years, though this has more recently been improved due to earlier discovery of the malignancy (12, 13). However, new molecular targets have expedited the oncologic research

    Cancer is a disease in which cells multiply out of control and gradually build a mass of tissue called a tumor. There has been a large amount of research dedicated to the treatment and cure of cancer. Several types of treatments have been developed. The following are just some of the major examples of cancer therapy: surgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, biologic therapy, biorhythms, unconventional treatments, and hyperthermia. Each type of treatment is discussed in detail below.

Radiotherapy, also called radiation therapy, is the treatment of cancer and other diseases with radiation. Radiotherapy is used when the entire primary tumor cannot be surgically removed. Radiotherapy deposits energy

The symptoms are initially asymptomatic they begin to appear such as swelling in the neck, swelling in the lymph nodes and pain, hoarseness and difficulty to breath. The causes are exposure to high levels of radiation, inherited genetic syndromes. There are four types of thyroid cancer: papillary, medullary thyroid cancer, anaplastic thyroid cancer, thyroid lymphoma. According to cancercenters Papillary carcinoma is the most common type of thyroid cancer, accounting for approximately 80% of cases. Papillary carcinomas are slow growing, differentiated cancers that develop from follicular cells and can develop in one or both lobes of the thyroid gland. This type of cancer may spread to nearby lymph nodes in the neck, but it is generally treatable with a good prognosis (outlook for survival). Follicular carcinoma is the second most common type of thyroid cancer, and accounts for approximately one out of 10 cases. It is found more frequently in countries with an inadequate dietary intake of iodine. Follicular carcinoma is also a differentiated form of thyroid cancer. In most cases, it is associated with a good prognosis, although it is somewhat more aggressive than papillary cancer. Follicular carcinomas do not usually spread to nearby lymph nodes, but they are more likely than papillary cancers to spread to other organs, like the lungs or the bones. Hurtle cell carcinoma, also known as oxyphil cell carcinoma, is a subtype of follicular carcinoma, and accounts for approximately 3 percent of all thyroid cancers. Medullary thyroid carcinoma develops from C cells in the thyroid gland, and is more aggressive and less differentiated than papillary or follicular cancers. Approximately 4 percent of all thyroid cancers will be of the medullary subtype. These cancers are more likely to spread to lymph nodes and other organs, compared with the more differentiated thyroid cancers. They also frequently

Thyroid cancer is a common endocrine malignant tumor (1). Papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) is the most common of the well-differentiated carcinomas (85%) (2) and is characterized by distinctive nuclear features.

In cases where it cannot be operated on, chemotherapy maybe be given first to try to shrink the tumor. If the chemotherapy is successful, surgery will be performed followed by more chemotherapy. Which drugs are used to treat the cancer depend largely on which drug(s) the patient received (if any) during his or her previous course of treatment and how much time has passed since he or she was treated with the

Seidlin reported on the success of radioactive iodine (I-131) in treating a patient with advanced thyroid cancer. Later, the use of I-131 was expanded to applications such as thyroid gland imaging, hyperthyroidism treatment and quantification of thyroid function. By the 1950s, the clinical use of nuclear medicine had become widespread as researchers increased their understanding of detecting radioactivity and using radionuclides to monitor biochemical processes.” (Dr. Ananya Mandal, MD) With this information, we know that nuclear medicine is successful with multiple cases of diseases. Our technology today has improved on how treatments can be done. Nuclear medicine has improved from the time being. If treating a disease with nuclear medicine back then had been successful, imagine all of the success stories of everyone today who has had the chance of using nuclear medicine. Nowadays, the science and technology has developed so much that it is easy to cure any type of disease when proper guidance is given. If the technology is used properly, the side effects can be reversed. Today, we can easily figure out a way to reverse the effects of what we did to ourselves with all of the equipment, tools, and technology that people