Certain types of thyroid cancer (well differentiated papillary and follicular types) can be cured by a unique radiotherapeutic method, even when they have spread through the bloodstream. It is not even necessary to know where the secondary deposits are! How is this done? The method relies on the fact that well differentiated thyroid cancers have not lost the ability to concentrate iodine in their cells. Normal thyroid tissue takes iodine out of the blood in order to make thyroid hormone. Although they can’t make thyroid hormone with it, the above-named well differentiated types of thyroid cancer also extract iodine from the blood. This ability is exploited by giving the patient a radioactive form of iodine. Provided all of the normal thyroid gland has been removed or destroyed by a previous dose of radioactive iodine, the radioactive iodine concentrates in the cancer cells. They therefore receive a very high dose of radiation, which has a very good chance of destroying them completely. The rest of the body receives very little radiation, so the side effects of this treatment are mild. There have been many attempts to find radioactive substances which would be concentrated in other types of cancer cells, so far with no real success.

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Cancer