Medullary thyroid cancer (MTC) is rare but aggressive. It can be cured only if intrathyroid at diagnosis. MTC can be sporadic (75%) or familial (25%) and the 2 forms are distinguished by RET mutations analysis. Calcitonin is the specific serum marker; its doubling time is the most important prognostic factor for survival and progression; 30% of MTC patients have distant metastases at diagnosis and, when progressing, systemic therapy with vandetanib or cabozantinib should be considered. Before starting this treatment, the possibility of using a local treatment should be evaluated to delay systemic therapy. A multidisciplinary team should care for these patients.
Management of Medullary Thyroid Cancer
Viola, David;Elisei, Rossella
2019-01-01
Abstract
Medullary thyroid cancer (MTC) is rare but aggressive. It can be cured only if intrathyroid at diagnosis. MTC can be sporadic (75%) or familial (25%) and the 2 forms are distinguished by RET mutations analysis. Calcitonin is the specific serum marker; its doubling time is the most important prognostic factor for survival and progression; 30% of MTC patients have distant metastases at diagnosis and, when progressing, systemic therapy with vandetanib or cabozantinib should be considered. Before starting this treatment, the possibility of using a local treatment should be evaluated to delay systemic therapy. A multidisciplinary team should care for these patients.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
