News Release

Newly updated treatment guidelines for medullary thyroid carcinoma

From the American Thyroid Association published in Thyroid journal

Peer-Reviewed Publication

Mary Ann Liebert, Inc./Genetic Engineering News

<i>Thyroid</i>

image: Thyroid, the official journal of the American Thyroid Association, is an authoritative peer-reviewed journal published monthly online with Open Access options and in print. The Journal, celebrating 25 years in 2015, publishes original articles and timely reviews that reflect the rapidly advancing changes in our understanding of thyroid physiology and pathology, from the molecular biology of the cell to clinical management of thyroid disorders. Complete tables of contents and a sample issue may be viewed on the Thyroid website. The complete Thyroid Journal Program includes the highly valued abstract and commentary publication Clinical Thyroidology, led by Editor-in-Chief Jerome M. Hershman, MD and published monthly, and the groundbreaking videojournal companion Video Endocrinology, led by Editor-in-Chief Gerard M. Doherty, MD and published quarterly. view more 

Credit: © Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers

New Rochelle, NY, March 26, 2015--A Task Force convened by the American Thyroid Association (ATA) released updated guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of medullary thyroid carcinoma (MTC). The current document is the first revision of the original guidelines published in 2009. The Task Force has presented their recommendations in the article "Revised American Thyroid Association Guidelines for the Management of Medullary Thyroid Carcinoma"), in Thyroid, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers and the official journal of the American Thyroid Association (ATA). The guidelines are available free on the Thyroid website.

Lead author and Task Force Chair Samuel A. Wells, Jr., MD, Cancer Genetics Branch, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health (Bethesda, MD), together with a team of expert colleagues, reviewed the basic science and clinical literature and developed evidence-based recommendations to guide physicians in the diagnosis and treatment of patients with sporadic and hereditary MTC. The 67 recommendations represent current and optimal medical practice.

The authors observe that despite significant progress in the management of patients with MTC, much remains to be done. Although patients with advanced disease, who receive recently developed novel therapeutic compounds, experience reduction in tumor size and have significantly prolonged progression-free-survival, compared to patients receiving placebo, drug resistance almost always develops and the tumor progresses. There is a critical need for more effective drugs, or combinations of drugs, that will improve the overall survival of these patients.

"The updated MTC guidelines provide a superb overview on the biology, diagnosis, and therapy of MTC. They form a state-of-the-art basis for a differentiated clinical care of patients with MTC and also highlight areas that are in need of further investigation and improvements," says Peter A. Kopp, MD, Editor-in-Chief of Thyroid and Associate Professor of Medicine, Division of Endocrinology, Metabolism, and Molecular Medicine, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago.

"The revised guidelines for management of medullary thyroid carcinoma are an excellent detailed review of the literature, and they provide an invaluable resource for the practicing endocrinologist, surgeon, oncologist, and others to assist in care of their patients," says Robert C. Smallridge, MD, President of the ATA, Professor of Medicine and former Chair, Endocrinology Division, Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, Florida.

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About the Journal

Thyroid, the official journal of the American Thyroid Association , is an authoritative peer-reviewed journal published monthly online with Open Access options and in print. The Journal, celebrating 25 years in 2015, publishes original articles and timely reviews that reflect the rapidly advancing changes in our understanding of thyroid physiology and pathology, from the molecular biology of the cell to clinical management of thyroid disorders. Complete tables of contents and a sample issue may be viewed on the Thyroid website. The complete Thyroid Journal Program includes the highly valued abstract and commentary publication Clinical Thyroidology®, led by Editor-in-Chief Jerome M. Hershman, MD and published monthly, and the groundbreaking videojournal companion VideoEndocrinology™, led by Editor-in-Chief Gerard M. Doherty, MD and published quarterly. Complete tables of content and sample issues may be viewed on the Thyroid Journal Program website.

About the Society

The American Thyroid Association (ATA) is the leading worldwide organization dedicated to the advancement, understanding, prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of thyroid disorders and thyroid cancer. ATA is an international membership medical society with over 1,700 members from 43 countries around the world. Celebrating its 92nd anniversary, the ATA delivers its mission -- of being devoted to thyroid biology and to the prevention and treatment of thyroid disease through excellence in research, clinical care, education, and public health -- through several key endeavors: the publication of highly regarded professional journals, Thyroid, Clinical Thyroidology, and VideoEndocrinology; annual scientific meetings; biennial clinical and research symposia; research grant programs for young investigators, support of online professional, public and patient educational programs; and the development of guidelines for clinical management of thyroid disease and thyroid cancer. The ATA promotes thyroid awareness and information through its online Clinical Thyroidology for the Public (distributed free of charge to over 11,000 patients and public subscribers) and extensive, authoritative explanations of thyroid disease and thyroid cancer in both English and Spanish. The ATA website serves as the clinical resource for patients and the public who look for reliable information on the Internet.

About the Publisher

Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers is a privately held, fully integrated media company known for establishing authoritative peer-reviewed journals in many promising areas of science and biomedical research, including Diabetes Technology & Therapeutics, Journal of Women's Health, and Metabolic Syndrome and Related Disorders. Its biotechnology trade magazine, Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News (GEN), was the first in its field and is today the industry's most widely read publication worldwide. A complete list of the firm's more than 80 journals, books, and newsmagazines is available on the Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers website.


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