Expert Thyroid Cancer Diagnosis and Treatment, Focused on You   

Innovation leads to better outcomes.

At Mayo Clinic, specialists have access to the latest technology and techniques to diagnose and treat thyroid cancer, and we use new knowledge and options to advance your goals. You can expect:

• Thorough examination. High-definition ultrasound exams of your thyroid and neck help inform your treatment options.
• Accurate diagnosis. Our pathologists have analyzed biopsy and tissue samples from many thyroid cancers, including very rare types. This helps ensure you'll receive an accurate diagnosis for planning treatment.
• Advanced laboratory testing. Molecular marker testing of your cancer cells helps identify gene mutations, such as RET and BRAF, to help identify the type of thyroid cancer.
• A full range of treatment options. These include surgical procedures like traditional thyroidectomy and, in certain situations, robotic thyroidectomy. More options include radioactive iodine, radiation therapy, chemotherapy, targeted therapy, and alcohol ablation.
• Experienced surgeons. Mayo Clinic endocrine surgeons perform many thyroidectomy procedures every year and are trained in the latest minimally invasive techniques. Research shows that surgeons with more experience tend to produce better outcomes for patients, such as fewer surgical complications and a shorter hospital stay.
• Carefully selected targeted therapy. This involves testing your cancer cells to see which treatments might be helpful. Many targeted therapies are available, including the latest multikinase inhibitors.
• Options when radioactive iodine doesn't work anymore. If your thyroid cancer becomes resistant to radioactive iodine therapy (radioactive iodine refractory), there are drugs that can make the cancer cells more sensitive to radioactive iodine. This is called redifferentiation therapy.
• Clinical trials testing the latest options. Clinical trials give you a chance to try the latest thyroid cancer treatments. Mayo Clinic doctors design and conduct many thyroid cancer clinical trials each year. Clinical trials may test new drugs and new procedures, such as minimally invasive ablation procedures instead of surgery for small thyroid cancers.

Expert care provided with compassion.

Mayo Clinic physicians treat more than 2,800 people with thyroid cancer each year and are active members of the International Thyroid Oncology Group and the American Thyroid Association. Mayo Clinic Cancer Center meets the strict standards for a National Cancer Institute comprehensive cancer center, which recognize scientific excellence and a multispecialty approach focused on cancer prevention, diagnosis and treatment.

Thyroid/Parathyroid Clinic at Mayo Clinic Florida

The thyroid is just this little organ that sits in front of the trachea. It does so much for us. And with these endocrine disorders that involve the thyroid and parathyroid glands, they can be incredibly disruptive for people. We all have four small little parathyroid glands and the back of our thyroid. And they regulate calcium in the body. So they are quite powerful as we get older. And in some disease states that we get some dysregulation which consists of enlargement of one or more than one of the glands. That is what we call a pair of thyroid disease. Unfortunately, sometimes these glands can become overactive. That's usually a benign conditioning, meaning it's not cancer, but it can have negative side effects on bone density, how high your calcium goes, which can make you feel ill. It can cause osteoporosis and other bone issues as well. So it can have significant impact effects. As the calcium levels rise, sometimes the cells within the thyroid gland tend to grow if we see something that we're suspicious about or we do a biopsy and it ends up being thyroid cancer. Then we discussed further therapies after that. We do fit the criteria as being a high-volume thyroid and parathyroid Center. We also have a surgeon's on our staff that qualify as high-volume surgeons. The reason why that's important is outcomes are extremely important for most diseases treated with surgery, your first shot is your best shot. So we try to make sure that first of all, we understand the extent of a patient's condition or the extent of their cancer. And that we form a treatment plan that takes care of it and takes care of it the first time. The tumor board is something that I run. It involves various specialist. So the endocrinologist, of course the surgeons, and then we have other disciplines, radiation oncology, the nuclear medicine providers. We have a pathologists that often comes in, a radiologist to review. And we all have different experiences and we can share our experiences. So that may apply to that individual to make sure we're all on the same page as we move forward. This collaboration is key. The breadth of experience across the team is very unique in a way that is just a seamless transition of care from one specialty to another. Agents can expect a unique experience when they come here. We even have a care hotel which has a relationship with a hotel across the street from our campus, where patients can come in day prior to surgery, get most of their testing done. C, S, urgency and endocrinologist getting any additional imaging they need to have their surgery done and then go to the hotel the night of surgery and then go back home. That's a beautiful model for consolidating care. And to make sure that we're doing a wonderful job for the people we treat. I think it's important that patients come here and leave here feeling like they've been heard, that they'd been understood, that they've been able to participate in their treatment planning and in the treatment process. I lock a happy patient. So it's very rewarding to me to have a successful operation that I come and talk to patients, family and say everything went great. We've got all the cancer out and no problems, no surprises. What I enjoy most is the fact that most of them have an excellent outcome. So I like delivering good news, the white patients, and that is the case with most thyroid cancer patients. The needs of the patient comes first and collaborative care provides the best care for patients.