Treating medullary thyroid carcinoma in a tertiary center. Current trends and review of the literature

Abstract

Objectives: We present the clinical outcome and long-term survival in patients with medullary thyroid carcinoma treated in a tertiary center. A thorough review of published series and current therapeutic approaches is also addressed.

Study design: A retrospective review.

Setting: An Academic Tertiary center.

Subjects/methods: An analysis of oncologic outcomes from 25 patients treated in our department for medullary thyroid carcinoma is performed, together with a comparison of relevant studies over the literature.

Results: The incidence of patients alive free of disease and the 5-year survival rate has been noticed to be slightly higher than the rate reported in most series.

Conclusions: Total thyroidectomy and neck dissection remains the gold standard in the treatment of medullary thyroid carcinoma. Early diagnosis and aggressive surgical treatment lead to lower rates of recurrence and invasiveness. Tyrosine-kinase inhibitor, especially vantetanib, appears to be a promising target for treatment.

Keywords: Medullary thyroid carcinoma; Tyrosine-kinase inhibitor; calcitonin; neck dissection; sporadic; thyroidectomy.