[Differentiated thyroid cancer]

Abstract

Thyroid carcinoma is a rare and heterogeneous disease. Initial therapy and follow-up has to be adjusted to the individual risk for an excellent vs. poor prognosis. Differentiated thyroid cancer has a very high cure rate and is treated by surgery, usually followed by radioiodine ablation. Depending on the response to initial therapy the risk for persisting or recurrent disease should be re-evaluated. Continued TSH suppressive levothyroxine therapy is only recommended in high-risk patients. In contrast, metastatic radioiodine-refractory thyroid cancers have a poor prognosis and may benefit from multidisciplinary treatment concepts including tyrosine kinase inhibitors. Due to its complexity, management of thyroid cancer patients should be performed in close collaboration with a specialized thyroid cancer team.