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Surgical management of medullary thyroid carcinoma

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Abstract

Medullary thyroid cancer (MTC) is a malignant tumor of the parafollicular C cells of the thyroid and comprises only 1–2% of all thyroid cancer cases. Unlike most differentiated thyroid cancer, MTC is associated with a mean survival of 8.6 years and accounts for a disproportionate 8.6% of thyroid cancer deaths. Surgery is the mainstay of treatment for loco-regional disease and the only current means of cure for MTC. The relatively low incidence of MTC has made the comprehensive study of this disease difficult and most research to date has been based largely on single institution, retrospective, and/or non-randomized studies. Despite various professional organizations such as the American Thyroid Association establishing guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of patients with MTC, there is still significant variation in actual practice patterns with regard to the extent of surgery, as well as the management of persistent or recurrent disease. The purpose of this review is to discuss the latest updates in the surgical treatment of MTC, as well as the management of locally advanced, recurrent, and metastatic disease based on the most recent data and expert consensus guidelines.

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  1. Section of Endocrine Surgery, Department of Surgery, Duke University School of Medicine, DUMC 2945, Durham, NC, 27710, USA

    Agathoklis Konstantinidis, Michael Stang, Sanziana A. Roman & Julie Ann Sosa

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  1. Agathoklis Konstantinidis
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Correspondence to Julie Ann Sosa.

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Conflict of interest

Julie Ann Sosa M.D., M.A, F.A.C.S discloses that she is a member of the Data Monitoring Committee of the Medullary Thyroid Cancer Consortium Registry supported by NovoNordisk, GlaxoSmithKline, Astra Zeneca, and Eli Lilly. All other authors report no financial or other form of interests or potential conflicts of interest.

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All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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Konstantinidis, A., Stang, M., Roman, S.A. et al. Surgical management of medullary thyroid carcinoma. Updates Surg 69, 151–160 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13304-017-0443-y

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