Novel Therapeutics and Treatment Strategies for Medullary Thyroid Cancer

Medullary thyroid cancer is a rare thyroid malignancy with unique management considerations. In general, small intrathyroidal tumors are cured by total thyroidectomy with central compartment dissection, while large tumors and those with disease spread to regional lymph nodes and distant organs (most commonly lung, liver, and bone) are more difficult to cure. The last decade has seen significant progress in the treatment of advanced MTC, largely due to the discovery and availability of novel targeted therapies, including new drugs specifically targeting the RET protooncogone.