RFA Treatment for Papillary Thyroid Microcarcinoma Cohort
Columbia University
Summary
Thyroid surgery has always been the mainstay of treatment for thyroid cancer. Thyroid surgery carries a low risk of complications that include recurrent or superior laryngeal nerve injury leading to voice changes, hypoparathyroidism, hypothyroidism with need for thyroid hormone supplementation, and unsightly scarring. Although many patients with thyroid cancer find these risks acceptable, these risks are sometimes less acceptable to patients with benign disease. In an era when the medical field is treating thyroid diseases less aggressively, there is a pressing need to identify approaches to treat indolent malignant disease less invasively. The purpose of this observational study is to evaluate the efficacy and safety of Radiofrequency Ablation (RFA) for treatment of Papillary Thyroid Microcarcinoma (PTMC) in patients that have already agreed to RFA procedure based on treating physician recommendation. This is a data collection study in which we ask participants to give us access to information generated before and after RFA treatment of their condition. The RFA procedure uses image guidance to place an electrode through the skin into the target tumor. In RFA, high-frequency electrical currents are passed through an electrode, creating a small region of heat to treat the lesion.
Description
Differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC), which includes papillary and follicular cancer, comprises the vast majority (\>90%) of all thyroid cancers. The yearly incidence has nearly tripled from 4.9 per 100,000 in 1975 to 14.3 per 100,000 in 2009. Almost the entire change has been attributed to an increase in the incidence of papillary thyroid cancer (PTC). This increase in incidence is likely driven by the diagnosis of small PTCs \<1cm in size due to the increasing use of neck ultrasonography. In a study observing 1235 patients with small papillary thyroid cancer over 22 years, it was noted that a…
Eligibility
- Age range
- 18+ years
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- No
Inclusion Criteria: * Adult patients (\>/= 18 years) * Biopsy proven papillary thyroid microcarcinoma (\>/= 1.5cm in greatest diameter, PTMC) * Either refuse surgery or are not good surgical candidates Exclusion Criteria: * Cardiac arrhythmia * Pregnancy
Interventions
- ProcedureRadiofrequency Ablation
Ultrasound guided radiofrequency ablation
Location
- Columbia UniversityNew York, New York