Abstract

PULGAR B, Dahiana et al. Medullary thyroid cancer: Review of 28 patients. Rev. méd. Chile [online]. 2013, vol.141, n.11, pp.1395-1401. ISSN 0034-9887.  http://dx.doi.org/10.4067/S0034-98872013001100005.

Background: Medullary thyroid cancer (MTC) represents approximately 5% of all thyroid cancers. Surgery is the only curative treatment, which includes total thyroidectomy and in most cases, neck dissection. Aim: To report our 10-year experience with surgical treatment of MTC. Material and Methods: Review of medical records and pathology reports of a university hospital. We retrieved data from 28 patients aged 47.2 ± 16 years (21 women) operated for a MTC treated between June 2002 and June 2012. Results: In 20 patients, MTC was diagnosed in the preoperative period. Total thyroidectomy was performed in all cases and included a neck dissection in 24 patients. Median follow-up was 48 (2-120) months. Twenty-five patients (89.2%) achieved complete remission of the disease and three had disease recurrence. There were no deaths during the follow up. Conclusions: The diagnosis of MTC is mainly based on cytology. Total thyroidectomy with neck dissection is the treatment of choice. An early-stage diagnosis is associated with low rates of recurrence and absence of mortality.

Keywords : Lymph node excision; Neck dissection; Thyroid neoplasms.

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