Search

© JNCCN-Journal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network. These NCCN Guidelines Insights focus on some of the major updates to the 2014 NCCN Guidelines for Thyroid Carcinoma. Kinase inhibitor therapy may be used to treat thyroid carcinoma that is symptomatic and/or progressive and not amenable to treatment with radioactive iodine. Sorafenib may be considered for select patients with metastatic differentiated thyroid carcinoma, whereas vandetanib or cabozantinib may be recommended for select patients with metastatic medullary thyroid carcinoma. Other kinase inhibitors may be considered for select patients with either type of thyroid carcinoma. A new section on "Principles of Kinase Inhibitor Therapy in Advanced Thyroid Cancer" was added to the NCCN Guidelines to assist with using these novel targeted agents.

Although thyroid carcinoma is relatively uncommon, approximately 33,550 new cases will be diagnosed in the United States in 2007. It occurs 2 to 3 times more often in women than in men, and with the incidence increasing by 4% per year, it is currently the eighth most common malignancy diagnosed in women. Although it occurs more often in women, mortality rates are higher for men, probably because they are usually older at the time of diagnosis (65–69 years vs. 50–54 years in women). Interestingly, the incidence of thyroid carcinoma increased almost 240% between 1950 and 2000, but mortality rates decreased more than 44%. Important updates to the 2007 guidelines include revised criteria for categorizing disease, revised recommendation for thyroid-stimulating hormone–stimulated thyroglobulin in some cases, and expanded CT recommendations for anaplastic carcinoma. For the most recent version of the guidelines, please visit NCCN.org