Abstract
There are about 14,000 new cases of thyroid carcinoma in the United States each year, about 90 percent of them differentiated — papillary and follicular — carcinomas, and about 1100 deaths.1 Thus, the number of patients needing follow-up grows, and because the median age at diagnosis is about 40 years and recurrences can occur at any time for several decades, the follow-up will necessarily be long. Furthermore, a recent study from the National Cancer Institute suggests that the number of cases may increase slightly as a result of the ingestion of radioactive iodine produced by atomic-weapons testing in the western . . .