Active Surveillance of Low-Risk Papillary Microcarcinoma of the Thyroid Proposed as First-Line Management

New Rochelle, NY, December 14, 2017—A 10-year study of more than 1,200 patients with low-risk papillary microcarcinoma (PMC) of the thyroid led researchers to conclude that close and continuous monitoring is an acceptable first-line approach to patient management instead of immediate surgery to remove the tumor. The article entitled "Insights into the Management of Papillary Microcarcinoma of the Thyroid" is part of a special section on Japanese Research led by Guest Editor Yoshiharu Murata, Nagoya University, Japan, in the January 2018 issue of Thyroid, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers and the official journal of the American Thyroid Association (ATA). The article is available free on the Thyroid website.

Coauthors Akira Miyauchi, Yasuhiro Ito, and Hitomi Oda, Kuma Hospital, Kobe, Japan, report that in only 8% of patients with PMC evaluated during the study period did the tumor increase in size by 3 mm or more, and only 3.8% of patients had a new metastasis. PMCs were least likely to grow in older patients (60 years of age or older). Furthermore, compared to a management approach of "active surveillance," patients who underwent immediate surgery had significantly higher risks of unfavorable events and more than 4 times the total cost of PMC treatment.

"The seminal observations by the groups from Kuma Hospital and the Cancer Institute Hospital in Tokyo from Japan indicate that the vast majority of papillary thyroid microcarcinomas have an indolent behavior and that active surveillance may be an alternative approach in many patients," says Peter A. Kopp, MD, Editor-in-Chief of Thyroid and Professor of Medicine, Division of Endocrinology, Metabolism, and Molecular Medicine, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL. "Similar prospective studies are now underway in other parts of the world. Ultimately, the goal is to avoid unnecessary treatment. The challenge that lies ahead of us is to identify the small group of patients with papillary thyroid microcarcinomas that require active intervention."

About the Journal
Thyroid, the official journal of the American Thyroid Association, is an authoritative peer-reviewed journal published monthly online with open access options and in print. The Journal 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. Complete tables of content and a sample issue may be viewed on the Thyroid website The complete Thyroid Journal Program includes the highly valued abstract and commentary publication Clinical Thyroidology, led by Editor-in-Chief Jerome M. Hershman, MD and published monthly, and the groundbreaking videojournal companion VideoEndocrinology, led by Editor Gerard Doherty, MD and published quarterly. Complete tables of content and sample issues may be viewed on the Thyroid website.

About the Society
The American Thyroid Association (ATA) is the leading worldwide organization dedicated to the advancement, understanding, prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of thyroid disorders and thyroid cancer. ATA is an international membership medical society with over 1,700 members from 43 countries around the world. Celebrating its 94th 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; research grant programs for young investigators, biennial clinical and research symposia; 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, authoritative explanations of thyroid disease and thyroid cancer in both English and Spanish. The ATA website 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 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, GEN (Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News), 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 website.

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