Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Practice Guideline
. 2016 Apr;38(4):493-8.
doi: 10.1002/hed.24357. Epub 2015 Dec 30.

External-beam radiotherapy for differentiated thyroid cancer locoregional control: A statement of the American Head and Neck Society

Ana P Kiess  1 , Nishant Agrawal  2 , James D Brierley  3 , Umamaheswar Duvvuri  4   5 , Robert L Ferris  4 , Eric Genden  6 , Richard J Wong  7 , R Michael Tuttle  8 , Nancy Y Lee  9 , Gregory W Randolph  9   10
Affiliations
Practice Guideline

External-beam radiotherapy for differentiated thyroid cancer locoregional control: A statement of the American Head and Neck Society

Ana P Kiess et al. Head Neck. 2016 Apr.

Abstract

The use of external-beam radiotherapy (EBRT) in differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC) is debated because of a lack of prospective clinical data, but recent retrospective studies have reported benefits in selected patients. The Endocrine Surgery Committee of the American Head and Neck Society provides 4 recommendations regarding EBRT for locoregional control in DTC, based on review of literature and expert opinion of the authors. (1) EBRT is recommended for patients with gross residual or unresectable locoregional disease, except for patients <45 years old with limited gross disease that is radioactive iodine (RAI)-avid. (2) EBRT should not be routinely used as adjuvant therapy after complete resection of gross disease. (3) After complete resection, EBRT may be considered in select patients >45 years old with high likelihood of microscopic residual disease and low likelihood of responding to RAI. (4) Cervical lymph node involvement alone should not be an indication for adjuvant EBRT.

Keywords: follicular; papillary; radiation; radiotherapy; thyroid cancer.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Biermann M, Pixberg M, Riemann B, et al. Clinical outcomes of adjuvant external-beam radiotherapy for differentiated thyroid cancer – results after 874 patient-years of follow-up in the MSDS-trial. Nuklearmedizin. 2009;48:89–98. quiz N15. - PubMed
    1. Brierley J, Tsang R, Panzarella T, Bana N. Prognostic factors and the effect of treatment with radioactive iodine and external beam radiation on patients with differentiated thyroid cancer seen at a single institution over 40 years. Clin Endocrinol (Oxf) 2005;63:418–427. - PubMed
    1. Chow SM, Yau S, Kwan CK, Poon PC, Law SC. Local and regional control in patients with papillary thyroid carcinoma: specific indications of external radiotherapy and radioactive iodine according to T and N categories in AJCC 6th edition. Endocr Relat Cancer. 2006;13:1159–1172. - PubMed
    1. Keum KC, Suh YG, Koom WS, et al. The role of postoperative external-beam radiotherapy in the management of patients with papillary thyroid cancer invading the trachea. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys. 2006;65:474–480. - PubMed
    1. Durante C, Haddy N, Baudin E, et al. Long-term outcome of 444 patients with distant metastases from papillary and follicular thyroid carcinoma: benefits and limits of radioiodine therapy. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2006;91:2892–2899. - PubMed

Publication types