About this Research Topic
The study of thyroid cancer (TC) has gained momentum over the past decade, and progress has been made in understanding the behavior of both low-risk TC and advanced, aggressive forms. A personalized approach to these patients is necessary to find the suitable therapeutic approach, individualized for each category of TC, based on the latest advances in the field.
In recent years, the opportunity and safety of conservative approaches in specific properly selected categories of TC, such as active surveillance of patients with thyroid microcarcinomas, non-surgical local conservative therapies, or minimally invasive surgical techniques, have been increasingly discussed.
Imaging and molecular advances have contributed to refining pre-intervention diagnosis, especially in indeterminate cytology and the stratification of the risk of malignancy, improving the therapeutic decision, the patient's follow-up, and the patient's quality of life.
In recent years, the use of multi-tyrosine kinase inhibitors (MTKs) and targeted therapies has been essential therapeutic tools for advanced/aggressive/I131-resistant cancers. Unfortunately, side effects and the emergence of resistance to MTKs limit their use. Efforts are being made to identify early predictive factors that might indicate early escape from therapy control.
Salvage-targeted therapy after first-line MTKs failure, combinatorial therapy to overcome resistance to one single drug therapy, or targeting alternative pathways to overcome resistance to MAPK and PI3K pathway inhibitors are some of the new, currently proposed strategies being developed to be used as an alternative in first-line drug resistance. Modulation of MAPK and PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathways in restoring thyroid cancer radio-sensitivity and immunotherapy of advanced TC are new treatment options currently being evaluated.
With this article collection, the aim is to gather Original Research, Reviews, Mini Reviews, and Perspective articles focusing on recent advances in precise molecular/cytological diagnosis and decision-making in the treatment of thyroid nodules, as well as recent advances in the diagnosis, treatment, and follow-up of patients with TC.
Themes of interest include, but are not limited to:
- new approaches in molecular diagnosis and cytological scoring system of the malignancy in thyroid nodules;
- specific risk factors and predictors of the occurrence of TC;
- advances in molecular approaches for the diagnosis and follow-up of TC;
- "omics" recent reveals in identifying diagnostic/prognostic biomarkers and potential molecular mechanisms underlying the progression of TC;
- recent theories and molecular mechanisms underlying the aggressive progression of TC;
- new insights in radiological imaging tools in the identification and follow-up of patients with TC;
- new approaches in the surgical treatment of TC, including conservative surgery, minimally invasive surgery, and other particular surgical procedure;
- new treatments for advanced tumours and possible factors/mechanisms predisposing to drug response resistance;
- new therapeutic strategies in I131-resistant TC/ advances in targeted therapies of TC;
- predictive new markers for early escape from drug control;
- combinatorial therapy to overcome the resistance to one single drug therapy;
- new perspectives on the mechanisms of how tumour microenvironment affects the thyroid tumour progression, recurrence, and therapeutic response/resistance;
- recent issues related to artificial intelligence in the diagnosis and management of TC
In recent years, the opportunity and safety of conservative approaches in specific properly selected categories of TC, such as active surveillance of patients with thyroid microcarcinomas, non-surgical local conservative therapies, or minimally invasive surgical techniques, have been increasingly discussed.
Imaging and molecular advances have contributed to refining pre-intervention diagnosis, especially in indeterminate cytology and the stratification of the risk of malignancy, improving the therapeutic decision, the patient's follow-up, and the patient's quality of life.
In recent years, the use of multi-tyrosine kinase inhibitors (MTKs) and targeted therapies has been essential therapeutic tools for advanced/aggressive/I131-resistant cancers. Unfortunately, side effects and the emergence of resistance to MTKs limit their use. Efforts are being made to identify early predictive factors that might indicate early escape from therapy control.
Salvage-targeted therapy after first-line MTKs failure, combinatorial therapy to overcome resistance to one single drug therapy, or targeting alternative pathways to overcome resistance to MAPK and PI3K pathway inhibitors are some of the new, currently proposed strategies being developed to be used as an alternative in first-line drug resistance. Modulation of MAPK and PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathways in restoring thyroid cancer radio-sensitivity and immunotherapy of advanced TC are new treatment options currently being evaluated.
With this article collection, the aim is to gather Original Research, Reviews, Mini Reviews, and Perspective articles focusing on recent advances in precise molecular/cytological diagnosis and decision-making in the treatment of thyroid nodules, as well as recent advances in the diagnosis, treatment, and follow-up of patients with TC.
Themes of interest include, but are not limited to:
- new approaches in molecular diagnosis and cytological scoring system of the malignancy in thyroid nodules;
- specific risk factors and predictors of the occurrence of TC;
- advances in molecular approaches for the diagnosis and follow-up of TC;
- "omics" recent reveals in identifying diagnostic/prognostic biomarkers and potential molecular mechanisms underlying the progression of TC;
- recent theories and molecular mechanisms underlying the aggressive progression of TC;
- new insights in radiological imaging tools in the identification and follow-up of patients with TC;
- new approaches in the surgical treatment of TC, including conservative surgery, minimally invasive surgery, and other particular surgical procedure;
- new treatments for advanced tumours and possible factors/mechanisms predisposing to drug response resistance;
- new therapeutic strategies in I131-resistant TC/ advances in targeted therapies of TC;
- predictive new markers for early escape from drug control;
- combinatorial therapy to overcome the resistance to one single drug therapy;
- new perspectives on the mechanisms of how tumour microenvironment affects the thyroid tumour progression, recurrence, and therapeutic response/resistance;
- recent issues related to artificial intelligence in the diagnosis and management of TC
Keywords: Thyroid cancer, thyroid nodules, personalized treatment, diagnosis, targeted therapies, drug resistance
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