Follow-up of patients with well-differentiated thyroid cancer

Thyroid cancer appears to receive a significant amount of attention in the medical literature that is out of proportion to its incidence. Whether this interest is the result of its demographics — thyroid cancer tends to affect both old and young, with a slight female predominance — or because thyroid cancer is linked to prior radiation exposure remains a mystery [33, 39]. The recent spate of cases of thyroid cancer in children in Belarus and Ukraine as a result of the Chernobyl disaster has certainly sparked considerable interest in its etiology and genetics [46]. Despite the considerable interest in this rare neoplasm, however, there are no universally accepted algorithms for either initial therapy or follow-up care for thyroid cancer. Controversies continue with respect to almost every aspect of the management of the thyroid cancer patient (Table 11.1). We will outline our approach to the thyroid cancer patient that has evolved at the University of Michigan over the last 4 decades.