Advances in the diagnosis and management of thyroid neoplasms.
Thyroid cancers are still the most common endocrine cancers. They are dominated by well-differentiated carcinomas, including papillary carcinoma, follicular carcinoma, and medullary thyroid carcinoma. Diagnosis is based on fine-needle aspiration cytologic examination. Recently, reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction for the detection of cancer-specific mRNA was shown to be a useful adjunct in both initial diagnosis and detection of recurrent disease. In addition, positron emission tomography has become a valuable tool for staging and surveillance of thyroid cancer. Given the gradual perfection of surgical technique and reduction in complication rates, near-total and total thyroidectomy should be offered to patients with well-differentiated carcinoma. For medullary thyroid carcinoma, near-total and total thyroidectomy with routine central and bilateral functional neck dissection are recommended. So far, no effective treatment exists for anaplastic thyroid carcinoma.
Bi
J
J
Department of Medical Oncology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles 90033, USA.
Lu
B
B
D018276:Carcinoma, Medullary / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D002291:Carcinoma, Papillary / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D006801:Humans; D008197:Lymph Node Excision; D011379:Prognosis; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000032:analysis; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D013964:Thyroid Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D013965:Thyroidectomy
D012333:RNA, Messenger