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← Thyroid Cancer

HEALTH PROFESSIONAL · SOURCE READING

Treatment Option Overview for Thyroid Cancer

Source: Thyroid Cancer Treatment (PDQ®)–Health Professional Version, National Cancer Institute.

Source updated: May 9, 2025 · Captured 2026-09-09.

Selected source text with whitespace normalised. This Triangle page is not an NCI PDQ summary.

Treatment options for thyroid cancer are described in Table 1.

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Table 1. Treatment Options for Thyroid Cancer
Type of Thyroid CancerDisease StatusTreatment Options
T = primary tumor; N = regional lymph node; M = distant metastases; EBRT = external-beam radiation therapy; RAI = radioactive iodine.
Papillary and follicularLocalized/regionalSurgery
–Total thyroidectomy
–Lobectomy
RAI therapy
Thyroid-suppression therapy
EBRT
Papillary and follicularMetastaticIodine-sensitive:
RAI therapy
Thyroid-suppression therapy
Iodine-resistant:
Thyroid-suppression therapy
Targeted therapy
Surgery
EBRT
Chemotherapy (under clinical evaluation)
Clinical trials
Recurrent papillary and follicular thyroid cancerSurgery with or without postoperative RAI therapy
Targeted therapy
EBRT
Chemotherapy
Clinical trials
Medullary thyroid cancerLocalized diseaseTotal thyroidectomy
EBRT
Locally advanced and metastatic diseaseTargeted therapy
Palliative chemotherapy
Anaplastic thyroid cancerSurgery
EBRT
Systemic therapy
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Preserved source evidence · Not medical advice