Endocrine Abstracts

Patients with thyroid cancer usually present with a lump in the neck. However, the vast majority of patients with lumps in the neck do not have thyroid cancer. The practical investigation and management of patients with lumps in the neck will be discussed, with reference to national and international guidelines. Diagnostic dilemmas and controversies will be highlighted.The types of thyroid cancer will be reviewed, with reference to their clinical behavio...

Permanent hypoparathyroidism is rare after total thyroidectomy. However, our experience is that often patients remain on alfacalcidol and calcium supplements long-term after thyroidectomy.Administration of these drugs can result in complications such as hypercalcaemia, hypercalciuria, nephrocalcinosis and vitamin D toxicity.Case histories will be used to demonstrate that withdrawal of alfacalcidol should be attempted post thyroidec...

Patient groups share the view that individual accounts of their condition and its’ subsequent management convey important messages. This highly anecdotal and personalised information can provide emotional support to help others with the same or similar conditions. It may also be useful in empowering patients to overcome the many potential psychological and social difficulties. It has become increasingly recognised that patient groups can form an adjunct to more traditiona...

Introduction: Thyroid carcinomas are uncommon, accounting for approximately 1% of all new malignant disease. They include a wide range of disease types, of these 65% of thyroid cancers are papillary with a peak incidence in the 30–40 year age group and women are 2–3 times more frequently affected than men. Follicular cancer accounts for 30%, which occurs mainly in the 50+ age group. Another 4% are medullary thyroid carcinoma which occurs equally in men and women. Ana...