Current management of medullary thyroid cancer.
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.
Department of Surgery, University of Wisconsin, Wisconsin 53792-7375, USA. sippel@surgery.wisc.edu
Rebecca S
RS
Sippel
Muthusamy
M
Kunnimalaiyaan
Herbert
H
Chen
D044963:Biopsy, Fine-Needle; D018276:Carcinoma, Medullary / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000235:genetics / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D005820:Genetic Testing; D018095:Germ-Line Mutation; D006801:Humans; D008197:Lymph Node Excision; D009377:Multiple Endocrine Neoplasia / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000235:genetics / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D011379:Prognosis; D000090063:Proto-Oncogene Mas; D051096:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-ret / Q000235:genetics; D011519:Proto-Oncogenes / Q000235:genetics; D020794:Receptor Protein-Tyrosine Kinases / Q000235:genetics; D013964:Thyroid Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000235:genetics / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D013965:Thyroidectomy
C000715470:MAS1 protein, human; D000090063:Proto-Oncogene Mas; D051096:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-ret; D020794:Receptor Protein-Tyrosine Kinases