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This is Your Thyroid on Drugs: Targetable Mutations and Fusions in Thyroid Carcinoma

Ying-Hsia Chu1

  • 1Department of Pathology, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital and Chang Gung University, No. 5, Fuxing Street, Guishan District, Taoyuan City 333, Taiwan.

Clinics in Laboratory Medicine
|July 29, 2026
PubMed

Insights

This review covers actionable genetic alterations in thyroid cancer, focusing on MAPK and PI3K pathways. Advances in targeted therapies offer effective treatments for unresectable thyroid cancer.

Area of Science:

  • Oncology
  • Molecular Biology
  • Genetics

Background:

  • Thyroid carcinomas are driven by genetic alterations in key signaling pathways.
  • The MAPK and PI3K pathways are central to thyroid carcinogenesis.
  • Receptor tyrosine kinases and pathway effectors are frequently mutated or rearranged.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review the molecular pathogenesis of thyroid carcinomas.
  • To emphasize therapeutically actionable genetic alterations.
  • To discuss laboratory techniques for identifying therapeutic targets.

Main Methods:

  • Literature review of molecular pathogenesis in thyroid cancer.
  • Analysis of genetic alterations in MAPK and PI3K pathways.
  • Evaluation of therapeutic strategies and target identification techniques.

Main Results:

  • Specific point mutations and gene rearrangements are identified as drivers of thyroid cancer.
  • Effective treatments have been developed for unresectable thyroid cancer.
  • Therapies have evolved from multi-kinase inhibitors to selective agents with improved profiles.

Conclusions:

  • Understanding molecular pathogenesis is crucial for targeted thyroid cancer therapy.
  • Targeted therapies have significantly improved outcomes for unresectable thyroid cancer.
  • Ongoing research focuses on overcoming resistance and refining treatment strategies.
Keywords:
BRAF V600 EInhibitorKinase fusionNTRKRETResistance

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