All thyroid cancers are not 'created equal'-- avoiding unnecessary or 'excessive' treatment

(The Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy& Clinical Practice) Drs. H. Gilbert Welch (The Dartmouth Institute) and Gerard Doherty (Brigham and Women's Hospital), analyze the steep increase in the number of people being diagnosed with thyroid cancer. Their analysis suggests that it points to not only widespread overdiagnosis, but also to overtreatment -- with the number of thyroidectomys on the rise when the choice between thyroidectomy and the less invasive lobectomy has little effect on the risk of death from thyroid cancer.
Source: EurekAlert! - Cancer - Category: Cancer & Oncology Source Type: news