Thyroid cancer cases soar; is it overdiagnosed?

http://apnews.myway.com/article/20140220/DAC394TO0.html

Feb 20, 6:40 PM (ET)
By LINDSEY TANNER

CHICAGO (AP) - A dramatic rise in thyroid cancer has resulted from overdiagnosis and treatment of tumors too small to ever cause harm, according to a study that found cases nearly tripled since 1975.

The study is the latest to question whether all cancers need aggressive treatment. Other research has suggested that certain cancers of the prostate, breast and lung as well as thyroid grow so slowly that they will never become deadly, and that overzealous screening leads to overtreatment.

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Thyroid removal is done for 85 percent of all people diagnosed despite guidelines that say less aggressive surgery is reasonable for lower-risk thyroid tumors, the study authors said.

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Experts know that better detection methods including CT scans and ultrasound, have led to more thyroid cancers being diagnosed, but they don't know which ones will become aggressive, Burkey said.

"Thyroid cancer even if treated has a fairly high recurrence rate even if it doesn't kill," he said.

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