Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2021 Aug 19:12:708949.
doi: 10.3389/fendo.2021.708949. eCollection 2021.

Update on Targeted Therapy in Medullary Thyroid Cancer

Christian Okafor  1 , Julie Hogan  1 , Margarita Raygada  1 , Barbara J Thomas  1 , Srivandana Akshintala  1 , John W Glod  1 , Jaydira Del Rivero  2
Affiliations
Review

Update on Targeted Therapy in Medullary Thyroid Cancer

Christian Okafor et al. Front Endocrinol (Lausanne). .

Abstract

Medullary thyroid carcinoma (MTC) is a rare neuroendocrine tumor that accounts for 2-4% of all thyroid cancers. All inherited MTC and approximately 50% of sporadic cases are driven by mutations in the REarranged during Transfection (RET) proto-oncogene. The recent expansion of the armamentarium of RET-targeting tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) has provided effective options for systemic therapy for patients with metastatic and progressive disease. However, patients that develop resistant disease as well as those with other molecular drivers such as RAS have limited options. An improved understanding of mechanisms of resistance to TKIs as well as identification of novel therapeutic targets is needed to improve outcomes for patients with MTC.

Keywords: MEN2; calcitonin; clinical trials; medullary thyroid cancer (MTC); tyrosine kinase inhibitor.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest. The reviewer MAZ declared a shared affiliation, though no other collaboration, with the authors to the handling Editor.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Oncogenic Signaling Pathways in MTC: Potential and confirmed therapeutic targets in MTC are depicted with currently available targeted agents.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Miranda-Filho A, Lortet-Tieulent J, Bray F, Cao B, Franceschi S, Vaccarella S, et al. . Thyroid Cancer Incidence Trends by Histology in 25 Countries: A Population-Based Study. Lancet Diabetes Endocrinol (2021) 9:225–34. 10.1016/S2213-8587(21)00027-9 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Ceolin L, Duval M, Benini AF, Ferreira CV, Maia AL. Medullary Thyroid Carcinoma Beyond Surgery: Advances, Challenges, and Perspectives. Endocr Relat Cancer (2019) 26:R499–518. 10.1530/ERC-18-0574 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Romei C, Ciampi R, Elisei R. A Comprehensive Overview of the Role of the RET Proto-Oncogene in Thyroid Carcinoma. Nat Rev Endocrinol (2016) 12:192–202. 10.1038/nrendo.2016.11 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Araque KA, Gubbi S, Klubo-Gwiezdzinska J. Updates on the Management of Thyroid Cancer. Horm Metab Res (2020) 52:562–77. 10.1055/a-1089-7870 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Prete A, Borges de Souza P, Censi S, Muzza M, Nucci N, Sponziello M. Update on Fundamental Mechanisms of Thyroid Cancer. Front Endocrinol (Lausanne) (2020) 11:102. 10.3389/fendo.2020.00102 - DOI - PMC - PubMed

Publication types

MeSH terms

Supplementary concepts