Thyroid Tumours Flashcards
The incidence of papillary and follicular tumours are falling?
False
Incidence is increasing as the mortality falls
What in papillary and follicular tumours is there a strong association with?
Radiation exposure
Are follicular and papillary tumours TSH Independent?
False they are TSH dependant
Most take up iodine and secrete thyroglobulin
What ways are follicular and papillary tumours found?
Palpable lump
Small chance findings from thyroidectomy
5% present the pathological Metastatic disease
What are follicular tumours strongly linked to?
Iodine deficiency
How do papillary tumours prefer to spread?
Lymph
How do follicular tumours prefer to spread?
Haematogenous
What is the main investigation for thyroid tumours?
Ultrasound with fine needle aspiration
+/- excision biopsy of lymph nodes
What isn’t used in the investigation of thyroid tumours?
No CT, MRI or thyroid scan
What are some clinical predictors of malignancy?
Thyroid nodule is <20 or over >50
Head and neck irradiation
Rapidly growing
What is the mainstay of treatment in thyroid tumours?
Thyroidectomy and RAI
What is RAI
Radioactive Iodine therapy
What is the scale used for determining severity of disease?
AMES
What factors determine the AMES score?
Age
Metastasis
Extent of primary tumour
Size of primary tumour
What would be a stereotypical low AMES score?
Young with no metastatic disease
Old with a minimally invasive primary
What would be a stereotypical high AMES score?
Distant metastasis
Extra-thyroid disease
Capsular invasion (follicular)
What is the surgery usually used in a low AMES risk?
Thyroid lobectomy with isthmus
What would indicate a lobectomy?
Papillary Microcarcinoma <1cm
Minimally invasive follicular
What is the surgery usually used in a high risk AMES score?
Sub or total thyroidectomy