First Guidelines from the American Thyroid Assn: Managing Thyroid Nodules & Cancer in Children

NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y. - April 22, 2015 - PRLog -- Previous guidelines from the American Thyroid Association (ATA) for evaluating and managing thyroid nodules and thyroid cancers targeted adults. Recognizing the potential differences in clinical presentation and long-term outcomes, and the potential risks of overly aggressive therapy in pediatric patients with thyroid cancer, an ATA Task Force developed management guidelines for children with thyroid nodules and differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC), which are published in Thyroid, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers and the official journal of the American Thyroid Association (ATA) (http://www.thyroid.org). The guidelines are available free on the Thyroid (http://online.liebertpub.com/doi/pdfplus/10.1089/thy.2014.0460) website.

The ATA Guidelines Task Force on Pediatric Thyroid Cancer, led by Chair Gary Francis, MD, PhD, Virginia Commonwealth University (Richmond), and Co-Chairs Steven Waguespack, MD, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center (Houston), and Andrew Bauer, MD, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, PA, based their recommendations on an extensive review of the medical literature related to clinical studies involving children and adolescents 18 years of age or younger. The evidence-based, “Management Guidelines for Children with Thyroid Nodules and Differentiated Thyroid Cancer (http://online.liebertpub.com/doi/pdfplus/10.1089/thy.2014.0460),” covers a broad range of topics, including the use of ultrasound and fine-needle aspiration for cellular analysis to evaluate and manage benign thyroid nodules. Recommendations for assessing, treating, and monitoring children and adolescents with DTC cover all aspects of disease management, from pre-operative staging to surgical management, the role of radioactive iodine therapy, and the goals of thyrotropin suppression. Rather than a one-size-fits-all treatment strategy, the Task Force guidelines propose a broader scope of therapeutic options for pediatric patients with DTC with the aim of limiting the use of aggressive therapy when it is unlikely to offer benefit.

“These ATA guidelines fill an important gap and, for the first time, provide structured recommendations for the management of thyroid nodules and thyroid cancer in children. The guidelines specifically address the important differences in the biological behavior and management of these entities in children, and provide a much needed overview of the currently existing evidence,” says Peter A. Kopp, MD, Editor-in-Chief of Thyroid and Associate Professor of Medicine, Division of Endocrinology, Metabolism, and Molecular Medicine, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago.

“Unlike adults, thyroid nodules in children are more likely to be malignant, and the histopathology, molecular profile, and clinical behavior of differentiated thyroid cancer differs substantially,” says Robert C. Smallridge, MD, President of the ATA, Professor of Medicine and former Chair, Endocrinology Division, Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, Florida. “These first ATA guidelines highlight these distinguishing features for the clinician faced with caring for a patient with this uncommon thyroid tumor. The Task Force is to be commended for their comprehensive review and balanced recommendations.”

About the Journal
Thyroid (http://www.liebertpub.com/thy), the official journal of the American Thyroid Association (ATA) (http://www.thyroid.org), is an authoritative peer-reviewed journal published monthly online with Open Access options and in print. The Journal, celebrating 25 years in 2015, publishes original articles and timely reviews that reflect the rapidly advancing changes in our understanding of thyroid physiology and pathology, from the molecular biology of the cell to clinical management of thyroid disorders. The complete Thyroid Journal Program includes the highly valued abstract and commentarypublication Clinical Thyroidology^®(http://www.liebertpub.com/ct), led by Editor-in-Chief Jerome M. Hershman, MD, and published monthly, and the groundbreaking videojournal companion VideoEndocrinology™ (http://www.liebertpub.com/ve), led by Editor-in-Chief Gerard M. Doherty, MD, and published quarterly. Complete tables of content and sample issues may be viewed on the Thyroid Journal Program (http://www.liebertpub.com/thy) website.

About the Society
The American Thyroid Association (ATA) (http://www.thyroid.org) is the leading worldwide organization dedicated to the advancement, understanding, prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of thyroid disorders and thyroid cancer. The ATA is an international membership medical society with over 1,700 members from 43 countries around the world. Celebrating its 92^nd anniversary, the ATA delivers its mission—of being devoted to thyroid biology and to the prevention and treatment of thyroid disease through excellence in research, clinical care, education, and public health—through several key endeavors: the publication of highly regarded professional journals, Thyroid, Clinical Thyroidology, and VideoEndocrinology; annual scientific meetings; biennial clinical and research symposia; research grant programs for young investigators, support of online professional, public and patient educational programs; and the development of guidelines for clinical management of thyroid disease and thyroid cancer. The ATA promotes thyroid awareness and information through its online Clinical Thyroidology for the Public (distributed free of charge to over 11,000 patients and public subscribers) and extensive, authoritativeexplanations of thyroid disease and thyroid cancer in both English and Spanish. The ATA websit (http://www.thyroid.org) serves as the clinical resource for patients and the public who look for reliable information on the Internet.

About the Publisher
Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers (http://www.liebertpub.com) is a privately held, fully integrated media company known for establishing authoritative peer-reviewed journals in many promising areas of science and biomedical research, including Diabetes Technology & Therapeutics, Journal of Women’s Health, and Metabolic Syndrome and Related Disorders. Its biotechnology trade magazine, Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News (GEN) (http://www.genengnews.org), was the first in its field and is today the industry’s most widely read publication worldwide. A complete list of the firm’s more than 80 journals, books, and newsmagazines is available on the Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers (http://www.liebertpub.com) website.