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Mayo Clinic is internationally renowned for the treatment of thyroid problems, including cancer. Endocrinologists at Mayo see more than 2,000 patients with thyroid problems each year. Mayo pathologists provide laboratory results within 24 hours of thyroid tumor biopsies. In addition, some Mayo surgeons and radiation oncologists specialize in treating thyroid tumors. The integrated nature of Mayo Clinic's practice makes it easy for these specialists to work together to develop the best treatment plan for each patient. Important rehabilitative and support services are also available to patients.
Mayo Clinic physicians use blood tests, and imaging and biopsies to diagnose thyroid cancer. They also take risk factors and exposure to environmental factors into account when examining a patient. Read more about diagnosis of thyroid cancer.
Mayo specialists recommend surgery for most thyroid gland tumors. Mayo Clinic offers the latest advances in surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy (for anaplastic or metastatic cancer), radioactive iodine treatment and thyroid hormone therapy. For patients with recurrent thyroid cancer limited to small regions of the neck, Mayo has pioneered the use of ultrasound guided alcohol ablation for control of the disease. Two or more treatment therapies can be combined for some thyroid tumors. Read more about treatment of thyroid cancer.
When detected early, cancer of the thyroid gland is highly treatable, resulting in national five-year survival rates greater than 90 percent.
Located in the front of the neck below the Adam's apple, the thyroid gland is divided into two lobes connected by a narrow bridge of tissue. The two main types of thyroid cells that can become cancerous are follicular cells, which produce and store thyroid hormones, and C cells, which produce the hormone calcitonin. The thyroid gland regulates many important functions within the body.
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Radiation therapy and surgery put a stop to aggressive anaplastic thyroid cancer.
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Researchers have compiled a database of information collected from more than 3,000 patients who have been treated for thyroid cancer at Mayo Clinic since 1940. Read more.
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