Cancer can form in the thyroid gland, an organ at the base of the neck that produces hormones that help control heart rate, blood pressure, body temperature, and weight. There are four main types of thyroid cancer: papillary, follicular, medullary, and anaplastic.
These four categories are based on how the cancer cells appear under a microscope, and each typically behaves very differently. Papillary and follicular are the most common of the thyroid cancers. They generally have a very good prognosis, and often can be cured. Medullary has a more variable and generally less positive prognosis. The rarest type, anaplastic, is generally very aggressive with a more negative prognosis.
The typical initial treatment for thyroid cancer is surgical removal of half the thyroid gland or the entire thyroid gland. Treatment with radioactive iodine (RAI) is often used after surgery when there is a larger tumor size; multiple tumors within the thyroid gland; or when the cancer has spread outside the thyroid gland into the neck and beyond. Radioactive iodine can be active for weeks or months with the goal of destroying any remaining thyroid cancer cells.
Hyperthermia can be added to the thyroid cancer treatment plan at any time. It is optimal to initiate treatment with hyperthermia prior to radioactive iodine (RAI) administration and for several weeks after (RAI) is administered. Improving your therapeutic regimen leads to the best outcome. Studies show that adding hyperthermia to thyroid cancer treatment can stimulate immune response, inhibit proliferation of cancer cells, and disrupt tumor composition.
For all patients, the goal is to choose the right therapy or combination of therapies that leads to the best outcome while minimizing side effects. Hyperthermia often has no or minimal side effects and has no known adverse effects on normal tissue. Adding hyperthermia can maximize the effectiveness of your therapeutic regimen without risking sensitive surrounding. This means the larynx (voice box), esophagus, trachea and the many nerves and arteries in the neck are not adversely affected by adding hyperthermia to your thyroid treatment plan.