| Abstract: |
Although surgery is the main curative treatment for patients with well-differentiated thyroid cancer, the extent of the surgery remains controversial. The scarcity of randomised trials makes it difficult to show conclusively which surgical option (ie, total thyroidectomy, subtotal thyroidectomy, or lobectomy) is best for the patient. Key factors to consider in the choice between the surgical approaches include postoperative morbidity, risk of local and distant recurrence, death rates, and the need for radioactive iodine treatment and long-term suppression of thyroid hormone. In this debate, which was first presented at the Society of Surgical Oncology Symposium in Atlanta, GA, USA, March 3-6, 2005, Robert Udelsman and Ashok Shaha present opposing arguments for whether total thyroidectomy should be regarded as standard for patients with well-differentiated thyroid cancer. |
| Keywords: |
adult; cancer survival; middle aged; surgical technique; retrospective studies; cancer recurrence; cancer risk; united states; postoperative care; recurrence risk; treatment indication; medical decision making; quality of life; neoplasm recurrence, local; morbidity; carcinoma, papillary; surgical approach; cancer mortality; high risk patient; risk; postoperative complication; cost effectiveness analysis; lung metastasis; iodine 131; radioactive iodine; thyroidectomy; thyroid cancer; thyroid neoplasms; risk reduction; decision making; neoplasms, multiple primary; adenocarcinoma, follicular; thyroid hormone; carcinoma, papillary, follicular; subtotal thyroidectomy
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