Thyroid cancer: diagnosis and management based on a review of 142 cases.

Review of 142 patients with thyroid cancer diagnosed and treated in a community hospital from 1958 through 1972 suggests that total thyroidectomy and radical neck dissection are unwarranted in the treatment of papillary carcinoma. Radioactive iodine scanning and needle biopsy are also shown to be unreliable indexes of malignancy. An operation approach to the management of specific thyroid cancers is presented.