Hemithyroidectomy Found Effective for Noninvasive Medullary Thyroid Tumors

In patients with nonmetastatic medullary thyroid cancer, researchers examined the use of hemithyroidectomy, a less extensive surgery, instead of total thyroidectomy. They identified two types of tumors, desmoplasia-negative and desmoplasia-positive, based on markers in the tumor tissue. The results showed that patients with desmoplasia-negative tumors who had hemithyroidectomy achieved a biochemical cure without compromising their health. This suggests that hemithyroidectomy, along with diagnostic neck dissection, is a promising strategy for select thyroid cancer cases, potentially reducing the extent of surgery.