Compared to surgery, the progression-free survival rate is similar and the side effects are much fewer.
Entered 2024.04.04 22:45 Entered 2024.04.04 22:45 Modified 2024.04.04 17:59 Views 84
Removing part or all of the thyroid gland can affect a patient’s quality of life. [사진=클립아트코리아]Research has shown that microwave ablation, which destroys only the tumor using heat generated by microwaves, may be a safer alternative to surgery to remove part or all of the thyroid when suffering from thyroid cancer. This is what the health and medicine webzine ‘Health Day’ reported on the 3rd (local time) based on a paper by Chinese researchers published in Radiology.
The researchers compared the results of 229 patients who underwent microwave ablation with those of 453 patients who underwent thyroidectomy among 682 patients with early-stage papillary thyroid cancer (PTC), the most common thyroid cancer. As a result, the 5-year progression-free survival rate (meaning that the tumor did not recur or grow during that period) was similar at 77% for patients who received microwave ablation and 83% for patients who underwent surgery.
However, the researchers found that microwave ablation was more likely to preserve thyroid function, eliminating the need for lifelong hormone replacement medication. In addition, it is explained that microwave ablation needs to be considered first because it is safer than surgery due to less bleeding, shorter incision length, shorter procedure time, and shorter recovery period.
In particular, papillary thyroid cancer, whose tumor shape resembles a nipple, occurs in two or more places within the thyroid gland in up to 60% of cases. These cases are often treated with surgery, but removing part or all of the thyroid gland can affect the patient’s quality of life. Patients may need to take thyroid hormone replacement for their entire lives or experience the side effect of permanent hoarseness.
Dr. Yu Ming-an, the lead author of the paper and director of interventional medicine at China-Japan Friendship Hospital in Beijing, China, said that with microwave ablation, “such complications are less likely and thyroid function can be preserved, improving the patient’s quality of life.” “There is a need to move away from the treatment paradigm and more actively consider less invasive management strategies,” he said.
The paper can be found at the following link:
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2024-04-04 13:46:53
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