Faculty Collaboration Database

Current management of medullary thyroid cancer. Oncologist 2008 May;13(5):539-47

Date

06/03/2008

Pubmed ID

18515739

DOI

10.1634/theoncologist.2007-0239

Scopus ID

2-s2.0-45749139320 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site)   145 Citations

Abstract

Medullary thyroid cancer accounts for 5%-10% of all thyroid cancers. The majority of medullary thyroid cancers are sporadic, but 20% of cases are a result of a germline mutation in the ret proto-oncogene. Hereditary medullary thyroid cancer can be seen as part of the multiple endocrine neoplasia syndrome type 2A or 2B or as part of familial medullary thyroid cancer. This article discusses the current methods available for the diagnosis and evaluation of a patient with suspected medullary thyroid cancer. The management of medullary thyroid cancer is predominantly surgical excision, consisting of a total thyroidectomy and lymph node dissection. The extent and timing of surgical excision are discussed. Systemic therapeutic options are limited for medullary thyroid cancer, but several therapeutic targets show promise for the development of new therapies in the future.

Author List

Sippel RS, Kunnimalaiyaan M, Chen H

MESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold

Biopsy, Fine-Needle
Carcinoma, Medullary
Genetic Testing
Germ-Line Mutation
Humans
Lymph Node Excision
Multiple Endocrine Neoplasia
Prognosis
Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-ret
Proto-Oncogenes
Receptor Protein-Tyrosine Kinases
Thyroid Neoplasms
Thyroidectomy