Current Research

Research for thyroid cancer is ongoing. The following advances may still be under investigation in clinical trials and may not be approved or available at this current time. Always discuss all diagnostic and treatment options with your doctor.

• A new surgical procedure, called minimally invasive video-assisted thyroid surgery, is being developed. Currently, this type of surgery has very limited availability, and only a few surgical centers have the expertise to perform this procedure.
  
  
• New therapies for thyroid cancer include experimental combinations of chemotherapy and other treatments. Radio-labeled antibodies (an antibody made in the laboratory attached to a radioactive substance) are being tested for MTC.
  
  
• Also for MTC, there is a clinical trial studying the drug vandetanib (zd6474, Zactima) for children with advanced hereditary MTC.
  
  
• For anaplastic thyroid cancer, clinical trials are studying combination chemotherapy. One study is comparing the results of either (carboplatin [Paraplatin] and paclitaxel [Taxol]) alone, or with an experimental drug, combretastatin A4 phosphate (CA4P, Zybrestat).
  
  
• For advanced thyroid cancer that does not respond to surgery and/or I-131 treatment, clinical trials are studying axitinib and other vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) inhibitors, which may block the formation of new blood vessels that are necessary for tumor growth. Another VEGF inhibitor, AMG 706 or motesanib diphosphate, was shown in a phase II clinical trial to shrink tumors or delay the growth of them in some people with advanced thyroid cancer. Also, in patients whose tumors showed a genetic mutation known as BRAF V600E, the tumors responded better to the investigational drug.
  
  
• Targeted therapies guided at specific molecular alterations of the cancer can make treatment more specific and potentially less toxic to the patient.
  
  
• Investigations are underway to fine-tune diagnosis and predict treatment outcomes based on the molecular biology (the study of the structure and function of cells at the molecular level) of the tumor.
  
  
• Researchers continue to investigate the best use of I-131, including different dosages, in treating thyroid cancer.
  
  
• The genetic testing and the refinement of RET oncogenes (see Risk Factors) is an ongoing area of active research that will improve selection of treatment and give more precise prognosis.