Extensive papillary carcinoma of the thyroid gland treated by external beam radiotherapy, surgery and postoperative radioactive iodine therapy.

The treatment of choice for well-differentiated thyroid carcinoma is surgery, radioactive iodine ablation and thyroid stimulating hormone suppression [Richard in Cancer 82:375-388, 1988; James et al. in Endocrinol Metab Clin North Am 37(2):497-509]. We report a case with an extensive papillary carcinoma of thyroid gland treated by external beam radiotherapy as a cytoreductive therapy followed by total thyroidectomy. Postoperatively the patient was given radioactive iodine. The patient is free from tumor a year after the treatment.