Thyroid cancer

Locations

Contact

General Enquiries
020 3313 1000

Visitor Information

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Visiting

The Trust’s department of thyroid and endocrine surgery is the first and largest department of its type in the UK. It specialises in the management of all aspects of thyroid disease. The service sees, offers advice about, and treats thyroid cancer, benign thyroid diseases, parathyroid and adrenal disease. We investigate and treat large numbers of patients with goitre (swelling of the thyroid that causes a lump in the neck) and all types of suspected and confirmed thyroid cancer. We treat over 70 new and recurrent thyroid cancers per year as well as managing the follow-up care of several hundred more, and thyroidectomy for benign thyroid disease in over 250 cases.

This is the largest thyroid cancer service in the UK with three dedicated specialist surgeons and the only centre in the UK that can offer pioneering robotic assisted thyroid surgery. Professors Palazzo and Tolley have established national and international reputations and Miss Di Marco has recently joined them after a distinguished higher specialist training, achieving the gold medal in the Fellowship of the Royal College of Surgeons examination and spending a year as the prestigious T.S. Reeve Fellow at the University of Sydney, Australia. All three surgeons are contributors to the British Association of Endocrine and Thyroid Surgeons’ national database, where activity and results are monitored for quality against national key performance indicators.

The departmental outcomes are comparable to those of specialist centres around the world. The thyroid cancer service is built around a thyroid cancer multidisciplinary team (MDT) that includes endocrinologists, radiologists, pathologists and specialist nurses. All patients with thyroid cancer are discussed at a weekly team meeting that is peer review approved.

The inpatient stay following thyroid cancer surgery at our Trust is one third of other London hospitals, so our patients are able to spend less time in hospital and more time recovering comfortably at home with the associated benefits.

As well as thyroid surgery, all three surgeons also specialise in parathyroid disease and Professor Palazzo and Miss Di Marco in adrenal disease. The team are dedicated to treating only these conditions and have an active departmental research portfolio.

Our surgeons take a collaborative approach in complex cases, undertaking multi-consultant procedures where appropriate.

Multidisciplinary team (MDT)

Our three surgeons work closely with our specialist endocrinologists, anaesthetists, nuclear medicine physicians, oncologists, geneticists and thyroid cancer specialist nurse.

The department has a weekly, peer-reviewed MDT for thyroid cases of suspected and known thyroid cancer attended by our surgeons, endocrinologists, radiologists, histopathologists and nuclear medicine physicians. Clinicians wishing to have their cases discussed at the Imperial thyroid cancer MDT should contact one of the Imperial clinicians or email ICHC-tr.thyroidMDT@nhs.net

Conditions and treatments

Thyroid cancer is a rare disease arising from the thyroid gland, a small gland at the base of the neck. Thyroid cancer is uncommon but increasing in incidence – approximately one per cent of all UK cancers originate from the thyroid gland. The most common symptom of cancer of the thyroid is a painless lump or swelling that develops in your neck, but it may also cause changes to the voice or lymph node enlargement.

This service manages patients with thyroid lumps both to address symptoms and to exclude malignancy. All clinics have a joint surgical and endocrine oncological make-up and are supported with imaging, isotope studies, cytology, histopathology and specialist nurses of the highest standards.

Our service offers complete management of thyroid cancer. While not all patients with thyroid cancer will follow this treatment pathway, our most common treatments include:

  • Thyroidectomy: Partial or complete surgical removal of the thyroid gland. This is the most common treatment for thyroid cancer.
  • Radioiodine treatment: This is a treatment that usually follows thyroid surgery. A patient swallows radioactive iodine via a capsule or liquid and the radioactive iodine travels through the blood stream to the neck and destroys any cancer cells that may remain after surgery.
  • Referral to an endocrine clinic for functional thyroid disease and follow-up care: You may come to our clinic with a suspected malignancy (cancer) and discover that you do not have cancer. However, if you have functional thyroid disease, you will need to work with your doctor to manage your condition.

Patients who have had their thyroid removed have their thyroid hormone levels checked to ensure they are on the most appropriate replacement dose. This is important as they will require hormone replacement therapy for the rest of their lives. 

Clinics

Charing Cross Hospital

Thyroid MDT clinic with Miss Di Marco and endocrinologists

Hours

14.00 to 17.00, second and fourth Tuesdays of the month

Address

Main outpatients department
Charing Cross Hospital
Fulham Palace Road
London W6 8RF

Contact information

Phone: 020 3313 8542

 

Hammersmith Hospital

Thyroid MDT clinic with Prof Palazzo and endocrinologists

Hours

09.00 to 12.30, Tuesdays

Thyroid MDT clinic with Miss Di Marco and endocrinologists

Hours

14.00 to 17.00, second and fourth Wednesday of the month

Address

Main outpatients department
Area A
Hammersmith Hospital
Du Cane Road
London W12 0HS

Contact information

Phone: 020 3313 8542

St Mary's Hospital

Thyroid MDT clinic with Professor Tolley/Miss Di Marco and endocrinologists

Address

Endocrine and diabetic centre
First floor
Mint Wing 
St Mary’s Hospital
Praed Street
London W2 1NY

Please note: The Mint Wing can be accessed via South Wharf Road. 

Hours

13.45 to 17.00, Mondays

Contact information

Phone: 020 3312 1187
Phone: 020 3312 5379

Meet the team

Surgeons

Professor Neil Tolley, MDT chair, clinical lead
Professor Fausto Palazzo, senior endocrine surgeon
Miss Aimee Di Marco, consultant endocrine surgeon

Endocrinologists

Professor Stephen Robinson, endocrinology lead for MDT
Dr Jeremy Cox
Dr Jean Todd 

Radiology

Dr Christopher Harvey
Dr Gitta Madani
Dr S Tam 

Oncologists

Dr Danielle Power, lead thyroid oncologist, histopathologist
Dr Roberto Dina, lead thyroid pathologist

Thyroid cancer nurse specialist 

Claire Nugent

Patient information

Before your appointment

It is imperative that you attend your first appointment – if you have been referred urgently, this appointment will be within two weeks of referral. Please be aware that though this may require you to alter plans at the last minute, it is essential that we begin investigations and treatment if necessary as soon as possible.

You are welcome to bring a relative, close friend or carer with you to your appointment. Please wear clothes that allow the team to easily examine your neck. Be sure to bring any medications you are taking as well as a list of questions you may want to ask the consultant.

During your appointment

Please note that we are a teaching hospital, so medical students may be present for some appointments. If you do not wish to have them in the room please let the nurse or doctor know and the students will be asked to step outside.

Waiting times in our clinic are typically around 30 minutes. You should expect your first appointment to take up to an hour, as you may need to see several specialists. Most follow-up appointments take about 10 minutes.

During your appointment, the consultant will take a detailed medical history, examine your neck and discuss any test results. You will also discuss the ongoing management of your condition. In addition, you may need to have some blood tests and an ultrasound of your thyroid.

After your appointment

You will be given a follow-up appointment to discuss the further management of your condition. 

Having surgery with us

Our surgeons have access to all modern technology of benefit to the management of thyroid disease including intra-operative neural monitoring and the latest tissue sealing devices.
Information on what to expect can be found in our patient information leaflet – please request one when you attend clinic.

Additional information

Teaching and training

The department teaches undergraduates and postgraduates at Imperial College London and has a strong tradition of training future endocrine surgeons. The department trains rotational specialist registrars and offers the Selwyn Taylor Fellowship annually to outstanding senior trainees (from the UK and abroad) who are about to become consultant endocrine surgeons. Potential candidates should contact Professor Palazzo (f.palazzo@nhs.net).

Emergencies

Our three surgeons provide a comprehensive an on-call service for thyroid and endocrine surgical emergencies and transfers from primary care and other hospitals including acute presentations and post-operative complications. They are happy to be contacted regarding thyroid and endocrine surgical emergencies and to answer non-urgent queries from referring physicians.

Further online resources

 

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