Pharmaceuticals (Dec 2010)

Molecular Therapies in Thyroid Cancer

  • Mark Agulnik,
  • Timothy Huyck

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3390/ph4010091
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 4, no. 1
pp. 91 – 100

Abstract

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Thyroid cancer is a common diagnosis with greater than 34,000 cases per year in the United States. Early stage thyroid cancer is often managed with surgical intervention and radioactive iodine; however, for recurrent or metastatic disease, the treatment options, historically, have been limited to chemotherapy. Chemotherapy for metastatic thyroid cancer has been of limited efficacy. Encouragingly, molecular therapeutics have played a greater role in managing patients with advanced disease. These agents work primarily through disruption of tyrosine kinase pathways. This review will discuss the expanding role of molecular targets in managing patients with advanced thyroid cancer.

Keywords