Current Clinical Trials

Standard treatment options:

1. Total thyroidectomy plus removal of involved lymph nodes or other sites of extrathyroid disease.
2. I¹³¹ ablation following total thyroidectomy if the tumor demonstrates uptake of this isotope.[1]
3. External-beam radiation therapy if I¹³¹ uptake is minimal.[2]

Check for U.S. clinical trials from NCI's PDQ Cancer Clinical Trials Registry that are now accepting patients with stage III papillary thyroid cancer ¹ and stage III follicular thyroid cancer ². The list of clinical trials can be further narrowed by location, drug, intervention, and other criteria.

General information about clinical trials is also available from the NCI Web site ³.

References

1. Beierwaltes WH, Rabbani R, Dmuchowski C, et al.: An analysis of "ablation of thyroid remnants" with I-131 in 511 patients from 1947-1984: experience at University of Michigan. J Nucl Med 25 (12): 1287-93, 1984.  [PUBMED Abstract]
   
   
2. Simpson WJ, Carruthers JS: The role of external radiation in the management of papillary and follicular thyroid cancer. Am J Surg 136 (4): 457-60, 1978.  [PUBMED Abstract]