Medullary Thyroid Carcinoma: A Single Institute Experience

Area of Science:

• Endocrinology
• Oncology
• Surgical Oncology

Background:

• Medullary thyroid carcinoma (MTC) is a rare neuroendocrine tumor originating from thyroid parafollicular C cells.
• While typically affecting older individuals, familial forms can manifest in younger patients.
• MTC is characterized by slow growth within the thyroid gland but has a propensity for early lymph node metastasis.

Purpose of the Study:

• To summarize the diagnostic and prognostic utility of serum calcitonin and CEA in medullary thyroid carcinoma.
• To highlight the differences in management between MTC and other thyroid cancer types.
• To outline the factors influencing the prognosis of MTC.

Main Methods:

• Review of diagnostic markers including serum calcitonin and CEA.
• Discussion of imaging modalities, primarily ultrasound (USG).
• Comparison of MTC management with differentiated and anaplastic thyroid carcinomas.

Main Results:

• Serum calcitonin is a valuable preoperative marker for disease burden and prognosis, guiding lymph node dissection and assessing distant metastasis risk.
• Postoperative surveillance using serum calcitonin and CEA levels, along with their doubling times, aids in detecting early recurrence or metastasis.
• Ultrasound (USG) is the primary imaging modality for diagnosis.

Conclusions:

• Initial diagnosis and preoperative assessment of MTC share similarities with other thyroid cancers.
• The management of MTC significantly diverges from differentiated and anaplastic thyroid carcinomas.
• Prognosis is influenced by age, gender, nodal status, metastatic disease at presentation, and biochemical marker levels.