The number of patients diagnosed with thyroid cancer is increasing dramatically
in the United States, and there are more than 30,000 new cases annually.
About 5% of adults have a thyroid nodule that can be felt and between 300/0
and 500/0 have one or more nodules that can be identified by ultrasound.
Thyroid Cancer in Clinical Practice covers all aspects of the diagnosis and
treatment of thyroid cancer. The author has spent more than 35 years in
Nuclear Medicine and Thyroidology in the clinical care ofpatients with thyroid
nodules and or thyroid cancer. He has published 150 peer-reviewed articles
and more than 100 reviews and book chapters, the majority devoted to these
topics. The text includes evaluation of a patient with a thyroid nodule. The
fundamentals of thyroid pathology are presented. The management of thyroid
cancer in adults, children, and pregnant women is covered separately. There
is discussion of whole-body scintigraphy with 123 I, treatment by surgery and
131 I, and the role ofthyroglobulin measurements. The importance oflong-term
follow-up using clinical examination, scintigraphy, ultrasound, and serum
thyroglobulin measurements ispresented. There are separate chapters devoted
to anaplastic cancer, medullary cancer, lymphoma of the thyroid, and metas-
tases to the thyroid. The pocket-sizedbook provides an easilyaccessiblesource
of information and advice to help practitioners manage patients and to under-
stand when to refer for consultations. The book supplements existing large
texts. Despite its pocket size, the text includes images and up-to-date proce-
dures such as fused positron emission tomography/computed tomography
images. There are more than 450 scientific citations from journals. The book
should be a convenient reference for practitioners and trainees in endocrinol-
ogy,nuclear medicine, oncology, surgery, including otolaryngology, radiation,
and medical oncology. Medicalstudents, nurse practitioners, and patients with
a thyroid nodule or thyroid cancer should find this to be a substantial resource.
Thyroid Cancer in Clinical Practice by I. Ross McDougall