HEALTHY LIVING


‘Microwave’ Treatment Shrinks Thyroid Cancer Tumors


papillary thyroid cancer. The term ablation means to


destroy or remove. One year after treatment, both


surgery and ablation treatments had a success rate over 98%, but the ablation patients had fewer major complications. “The proper name for this


type of noninvasive procedure is radiofrequency ablation, or RFA,” explains Rajiv Datta, M.D., professor of surgery at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, and medical director of Mount Sinai South Nassau’s Gertrude and Louis Feil Cancer Center. “You place a needle into the nodule and heat it with radiofrequency energy waves for about 20 minutes, and then watch it shrink away over about three months.” Although RFA is


often used to treat benign thyroid


nodules, it has not been commonly used to treat thyroid cancer nodules. Using RFA for small papillary


cancer nodules would be a beneficial treatment option for patients. Right now, however, this option is not covered by insurance, and could cost about $5,000 out of pocket. “Using RFA for benign nodules is


Noninvasive procedure leaves patients with fewer complications. ::


BY CHRIS ILIADES, M.D. D


iagnosis of the most common type of thyroid cancer has increased by a whopping 240% over


the last 30 years, according to the National Library of Medicine. A new study that used


“microwave” energy to shrink thyroid cancer tumors, called nodules,


90 NEWSMAX MAXLIFE | OCTOBER 2024


recently made the news. While the treatment does


not actually put the patient in a microwave oven, it does “cook” thyroid nodules, and it may have big benefits for papillary thyroid cancer, the most common type. New research, published in


the journal Radiology, compared microwave ablation to surgery for


popular with patients because it has less risks than surgery and does not leave a scar on the neck,” explains Datta. “During COVID, this procedure


became more common because it did not require an operating room. It is likely that RFA for small cancer nodules will soon be approved and covered by insurance. That would be a big benefit for a type of thyroid cancer that is often overtreated by surgery.” Papillary thyroid cancer nodules


are slow growing, often remain small, and rarely grow or spread. Many of these could be watched to


ILLUSTRATION THYROID CANCER/WILDPIXEL©ISTOCK / THYROID RADIOFREQUENCY ABLATION/SCOTT HOLMES/BCM.EDU


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