Thyroid Tumors Program

Our approach to thyroid tumor care

Patients with advanced thyroid cancers and other complex thyroid conditions receive care from a team of experts. Your care team may include specialists in:

• Endocrinology, thyroid disease (thyroidology), and endocrine surgery
• Medical, radiation, and surgical oncology (cancer care)
• Head and neck cancer services
• Interventional radiology
• Nuclear medicine
• Speech-language therapy
• Thoracic (chest) surgery

Mass General Brigham is known for expertise in diagnosing thyroid conditions. Our state-of-the-art diagnostic tests include:

• Radioactive iodine administration, including dosimetry
• Radioactive iodine and pertechnetate nuclear scans
• Ultrasound, CT scan, MRI, and positron emission tomography (PET)/CT scan
• Ultrasound-guided fine needle aspiration and core needle biopsies

We also use molecular genetic testing, when appropriate.

We are among a select few programs in the country specializing in treating aggressive thyroid cancers and metastatic thyroid cancer. We helped advance the use of chemotherapy and immunotherapy for thyroid cancers.

Some patients with metastatic thyroid cancer may receive proton beam therapy at New England’s only proton therapy center. This advanced radiation therapy precisely targets the tumor, sparing nearby healthy tissue.

Our endocrine and head and neck surgery program is one of the largest and most established in the country. Each year, our surgeons perform over 800 thyroidectomies, using conservative, minimally invasive methods whenever possible. We also use recurrent laryngeal nerve monitoring to protect your speech and breathing.

Thyroid tumor surgeries include:

• Thyroid lobectomy, to remove half of the thyroid gland
• Total thyroidectomy, to remove all of the thyroid
• Lymph node removal, to treat thyroid cancer that spreads to surrounding lymph nodes