title: [Diagnostic circumstances, therapeutic measures and long-term surveillance of medullary cancers of the thyroid].
abstract: Diagnosis of medullary thyroid carcinoma is often delayed as a consequence of its rarity and its recent discovery. Fine needle aspiration biopsies of all the cold thyroid nodules and plasma calcitonin (CT) measurement in case of suggestive clinical features allow an accurate pre-operative diagnosis and the best therapeutic conditions. A cervico-mediastinal check-up, a screening for a Multiple Endocrine Neoplasia type 2a or 2b, the removal of all tumoral cervico-thoracic tissue by total thyroidectomy, a careful node excision and the pathological examination by a skillful pathologist using immunohistochemistry are the main therapeutic methods. Additional treatment such as external radiotherapy, chemotherapy and radiopharmaceutics are indicated when surgery is incomplete, when the tumor is inoperable and when there are extensive distant metastases. Basal and pentagastrin stimulated CT is the best tool in post surgical follow-up. Disappearance may indicate a long remission, even a cure. Persistence of an abnormal level necessitates the search for secreting tumoral site with non invasive methods such as ultrasonography, computed tomography and scintigraphy, avoiding blind aggressive treatments. In case of recurrence or distant metastases, surgical excision has to be considered first.
mesh_terms: D002277:Carcinoma / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000628:therapy*; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D011379:Prognosis; D013964:Thyroid Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000628:therapy*
vernacular_title: Circonstances diagnostiques, moyens thérapeutiques et surveillance au long cours des cancers médullaires de la thyroïde.