The choice of treatment depends on the type of thyroid cancer the patient has, the kind of treatment the patient had before, and where the cancer comes back. Treatment may be one of the following:

1. Surgery with or without radioactive iodine. A second surgery may be done to remove tumor that remains.
2. Radioactive iodine.
3. External-beam radiation therapy or radiation therapy given during surgery to relieve symptoms caused by the cancer.
4. Chemotherapy.
5. Clinical trials of new treatments.

Check for clinical trials from NCI's PDQ Cancer Clinical Trials Registry that are now accepting patients with recurrent thyroid cancer.