title: German Association of Endocrine Surgeons practice guideline for the surgical management of malignant thyroid tumors.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Over the past years, the incidence of thyroid cancer has surged not only in Germany but also in other countries of the Western hemisphere. This surge was first and foremost due to an increase of prognostically favorable ("low risk") papillary thyroid microcarcinomas, for which limited surgical procedures are often sufficient without loss of oncological benefit. These developments called for an update of the previous practice guideline to detail the surgical treatment options that are available for the various disease entities and tumor stages.
  
  
  METHODS
  The present German Association of Endocrine Surgeons practice guideline was developed on the basis of clinical evidence considering current national and international treatment recommendations through a formal expert consensus process in collaboration with the German Societies of General and Visceral Surgery, Endocrinology, Nuclear Medicine, Pathology, Radiooncology, Oncological Hematology, and a German thyroid cancer patient support organization.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The practice guideline for the surgical management of malignant thyroid tumors includes recommendations regarding preoperative workup; classification of locoregional nodes and terminology of surgical procedures; frequency, clinical, and histopathological features of occult and clinically apparent papillary, follicular, poorly differentiated, undifferentiated, and sporadic and hereditary medullary thyroid cancers, thyroid lymphoma and thyroid metastases from primaries outside the thyroid gland; extent of thyroidectomy; extent of lymph node dissection; aerodigestive tract resection; postoperative follow-up and surgery for recurrence and distant metastases.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These evidence-based recommendations for surgical therapy reflect various "treatment corridors" that are best discussed within multidisciplinary teams and the patient considering tumor type, stage, progression, and inherent surgical risk.
authors: Department of General, Visceral and Vascular Surgery, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Ernst-Grube-Straße 40, 06097, Halle, Saale, Germany. henning.dralle@uk-halle.de
authors: Henning
authors: H
authors: Dralle
authors: Thomas J
authors: TJ
authors: Musholt
authors: Jochen
authors: J
authors: Schabram
authors: Thomas
authors: T
authors: Steinmüller
authors: Andreja
authors: A
authors: Frilling
authors: Dietmar
authors: D
authors: Simon
authors: Peter E
authors: PE
authors: Goretzki
authors: Bruno
authors: B
authors: Niederle
authors: Christian
authors: C
authors: Scheuba
authors: Thomas
authors: T
authors: Clerici
authors: Michael
authors: M
authors: Hermann
authors: Jochen
authors: J
authors: Kußmann
authors: Kerstin
authors: K
authors: Lorenz
authors: Christoph
authors: C
authors: Nies
authors: Peter
authors: P
authors: Schabram
authors: Arnold
authors: A
authors: Trupka
authors: Andreas
authors: A
authors: Zielke
authors: Wolfram
authors: W
authors: Karges
authors: Markus
authors: M
authors: Luster
authors: Kurt W
authors: KW
authors: Schmid
authors: Dirk
authors: D
authors: Vordermark
authors: Hans-Joachim
authors: HJ
authors: Schmoll
authors: Reinhard
authors: R
authors: Mühlenberg
authors: Otmar
authors: O
authors: Schober
authors: Harald
authors: H
authors: Rimmele
authors: Andreas
authors: A
authors: Machens
mesh_terms: D013507:Endocrine Surgical Procedures / Q000592:standards; D005858:Germany; D019983:Guideline Adherence; D006801:Humans; D008197:Lymph Node Excision / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards; D008198:Lymph Nodes / Q000473:pathology*; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D012955:Societies, Medical / Q000592:standards; D013964:Thyroid Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D013965:Thyroidectomy / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards*; D016896:Treatment Outcome