What are the treatments for thyroid cancer in the elderly?

What are the treatments for thyroid cancer in the elderly? Thyroid cancer is a disease with a wide range of incidence. Both the elderly and children may suffer from this malignant tumor. However, the physical fitness and resistance to diseases of the elderly are not as good as those of young patients, so the treatment method also needs to be carefully selected. So what are the treatments for thyroid cancer in the elderly?

Western medicine treatment of thyroid cancer in the elderly

1. Treatment:

Due to the different pathological types and biological characteristics of thyroid cancer, the prognosis varies greatly. At present, the treatment of thyroid cancer is relatively unified, and the specific methods are as follows:

1. For papillary carcinoma and follicular carcinoma, it is recommended to perform a complete lobectomy of the thyroid gland. When the affected side of the neck can be cleared, it should be cleared as much as possible to preserve the parathyroid glands. For medullary carcinoma, selective neck lymph node dissection should also be performed.

2. For patients with undifferentiated cancer, surgery should not be performed, and radiotherapy and chemotherapy are appropriate.

3. For papillary carcinoma, follicular carcinoma, and when neck clearance during surgery is not performed or is unsatisfactory, postoperative radiotherapy may also be considered.

4. Since the thyroid gland loses its function after complete thyroid lobectomy, causing elevated TSH, thyroxine replacement therapy should be used.

2. Prognosis

If thyroid cancer is not treated surgically in time, the prognosis is the worst, with a one-year survival rate of only about 1%. Even with surgical treatment, the cancer has often metastasized and the prognosis is still very poor.