Video ViewPoint Strategy Session: Rethinking the Management of Differentiated and Anaplastic Thyroid Cancers

Gain expert insight and strategies for the management of anaplastic thyroid cancer including emerging data on immunotherapies, and treatment to manage adverse events. This activity is presented by leading experts, Jochen Lorch, MD, MSc, Director Thyroid Cancer Center, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and Carolyn Grande, CRNP, AOCNP®, Oncology Nurse Practitioner, Abramson Cancer Center.

STATEMENT OF NEED

Thyroid cancer is one of the most prevalent cancers in the United States. An estimated 44,280 new cases are diagnosed annually, and 2,200 people die of the disease (ACS, 2021). Thyroid cancer is typically more aggressive in men than in women and becomes increasingly lethal in those above the age of 40 (NCCN, 2021). There are three primary subtypes: differentiated (including papillary, follicular, and Hürthle), medullary, and anaplastic. The differentiated subtype is the most common, accounting for approximately 95% of cases (NCCN, 2021). Although surgical resection may be curative and 10-year survival rates are high, questions remain over the management of more advanced or high-risk disease, including indications for novel therapies, their optimal starting times and dosing schedules, and their long-term safety profiles (NCCN, 2021). The anaplastic subtype has the worst prognosis, with a 1-year survival rate of 20% and a disease-specific mortality rate of nearly 100% (NCCN, 2021).

TARGET AUDIENCE

Oncologists, endocrinologists, oncology advanced practitioners, and other health care professionals involved in the treatment of patients with thyroid cancer.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

Upon completion of this activity, participants should be able to
Discuss the prognostic implications of RET and NTRK alterations in advanced differentiated and anaplastic thyroid cancers
Assess emerging data on selective small molecule inhibitors, multikinase inhibitors, and immunotherapies for advanced differentiated and anaplastic thyroid cancers
Apply strategies to manage adverse events associated with selective small molecule inhibitors, multikinase inhibitors, and immunotherapies for advanced differentiated and anaplastic thyroid cancers