scholarly journals Perspectives on the Treatment of Advanced Thyroid Cancer: Approved Therapies, Resistance Mechanisms, and Future Directions

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ashleigh Porter ◽  
Deborah J. Wong

For differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC), systemic therapy with radioactive iodine (RAI) is utilized for radiosensitive disease, while for radioiodine refractory (RAIR) disease, current standard of care is treatment with multikinase tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKI). For BRAF-mutant DTC or anaplastic thyroid cancer (ATC), treatment with inhibitors targeting BRAF and MEK are important advances. RET-inhibitors for RET-mutated medullary thyroid cancer (MTC) recently have been FDA-approved for metastatic disease. Nevertheless, treatment of thyroid cancer resistant to current systemic therapies remains an important area of need. Resistance mechanisms are being elucidated, and novel therapies including combinations of BRAF and MEK inhibitors with RAI or other targeted therapies or TKIs combined with checkpoint inhibition are current areas of exploration.

2009 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 715-731 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer A Woyach ◽  
Manisha H Shah

The spectrum of thyroid cancers ranges from one of the most indolent to one of the most aggressive solid tumors identified. Conventional therapies for thyroid cancers are based on the histologic type of thyroid cancers such as papillary or follicular thyroid cancer (differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC)), medullary thyroid cancer (MTC), or anaplastic thyroid cancer (ATC). While surgery is one of the key treatments for all such types of thyroid cancers, additional therapies vary. Effective targeted therapy for DTC is a decades-old practice with systemic therapies of thyroid stimulating hormone suppression and radioactive iodine therapy. However, for the iodine-refractory DTC, MTC, and ATC there is no effective systemic standard of care treatment. Recent advances in understanding pathogenesis of DTC and development of molecular targeted therapy have dramatically transformed the field of clinical research in thyroid cancer. Over the last five years, incredible progress has been made and phases I–III clinical trials have been conducted in various types of thyroid cancers with some remarkable results that has made an impact on lives of patients with thyroid cancer. Such history-making events have boosted enthusiasm and interest among researchers, clinicians, patients, and sponsors and we anticipate ongoing efforts to develop more effective and safe therapies for thyroid cancer.


2018 ◽  
Vol 2 (10) ◽  
pp. 1109-1130 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarika N Rao ◽  
Maria E Cabanillas

Abstract Thyroid cancer, with the exception of anaplastic thyroid cancer, typically has very favorable outcomes with the standard therapy. However, those that persist, recur, or metastasize are associated with a worse prognosis. Targeted therapy with kinase inhibitors has shown promise in advanced cases of thyroid cancer, and currently five drug regimens are approved for use in clinical practice in the treatment of differentiated, medullary, and anaplastic thyroid cancer, with more options in the pipeline. However, one of the greatest dilemmas is when and how to initiate one of these drugs, and this is discussed herein.


2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (6) ◽  
pp. 3117
Author(s):  
Loredana Lorusso ◽  
Virginia Cappagli ◽  
Laura Valerio ◽  
Carlotta Giani ◽  
David Viola ◽  
...  

Differentiated thyroid cancers (DTC) are commonly and successfully treated with total thyroidectomy plus/minus radioiodine therapy (RAI). Medullary thyroid cancer (MTC) is only treated with surgery but only intrathyroidal tumors are cured. The worst prognosis is for anaplastic (ATC) and poorly differentiated thyroid cancer (PDTC). Whenever a local or metastatic advanced disease is present, other treatments are required, varying from local to systemic therapies. In the last decade, the efficacy of the targeted therapies and, in particular, tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) has been demonstrated. They can prolong the disease progression-free survival and represent the most important therapeutic option for the treatment of advanced and progressive thyroid cancer. Currently, lenvatinib and sorafenib are the approved drugs for the treatment of RAI-refractory DTC and PDTC while advanced MTC can be treated with either cabozantinib or vandetanib. Dabrafenib plus trametinib is the only approved treatment by FDA for BRAFV600E mutated ATC. A new generation of TKIs, specifically for single altered oncogenes, is under evaluation in phase 2 and 3 clinical trials. The aim of this review was to provide an overview of the current and future treatments of thyroid cancer with regards to the advanced and progressive cases that require systemic therapies that are becoming more and more targeted on the molecular identity of the tumor.


2021 ◽  
Vol Publish Ahead of Print ◽  
Author(s):  
Eline C. Jager ◽  
K. Esther Broekman ◽  
Schelto Kruijff ◽  
Thera P. Links

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Geeta Lal

Anaplastic thyroid cancer (ATC) is a rare thyroid malignancy with a nearly uniform poor prognosis. Most patients present with advanced disease, and optimal management requires rapid diagnosis, staging, and involvement of multidisciplinary teams. Treatment may include surgery in patients with resectable disease and adjuvant or neoadjuvant radiotherapy and chemotherapy. Improved understanding of molecular pathogenesis has allowed the assessment of tyrosine kinase inhibitors and other targeted treatments in these patients.  The FDA recently approved the combination of dabrafenib (BRAF inhibitor) and trametinib (MEK inhibitor) for the treatment of BRAF V600E mutation positive, unresectable or metastatic ATC. This review summarizes the current state-of-the-art concepts in the management of patients with ATC. This review contains 3 figures, 2 tables, and 25 references. Key words: anaplastic thyroid cancer, goals of care discussion, management, surgery, radiotherapy, chemotherapy novel therapies, NCCN and ATA guidelines


2020 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
pp. 175883592097084
Author(s):  
David Prince ◽  
Ken Liu ◽  
Weiqi Xu ◽  
Minjiang Chen ◽  
Jin-Yu Sun ◽  
...  

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) causes a significant health burden globally and its impact is expected to increase in the coming years. Intermediate stage HCC, as defined by the Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer (BCLC) system stage B, represents up to 30% of patients at diagnosis and encompasses a broad spectrum of tumor burden. Several attempts have been made to further subclassify this heterogenous group. The current standard of care recommended by BCLC for intermediate stage HCC patients is transarterial chemoembolization (TACE), with modest outcomes reported. While refinements have been made to TACE technique and patient selection, it remains non-curative. In the real-world setting, only 60% of patients with intermediate stage HCC receive TACE, with the remainder deviating to a range of other therapies that have shown promise in select patient subgroups. These include curative treatments (resection, ablation, and liver transplantation), radiotherapy (stereotactic and radioembolization), systemic therapies, and their combination. In this review, we summarize the classifications and current management for patients with intermediate stage HCC as well as highlight recent key developments in this space.


PLoS ONE ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (5) ◽  
pp. e0233720
Author(s):  
Viktor Sandblom ◽  
Johan Spetz ◽  
Emman Shubbar ◽  
Mikael Montelius ◽  
Ingun Ståhl ◽  
...  

2018 ◽  
Vol 127 (04) ◽  
pp. 240-246 ◽  
Author(s):  
Judit Kocsis ◽  
Éva Szekanecz ◽  
Ali Bassam ◽  
Andrea Uhlyarik ◽  
Zsuzsanna Pápai ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Medullary thyroid cancer (MTC) is a rare disease, the prognosis of advanced and metastatic disease is poor and few therapeutic options are available in this setting. Based on the results of phase II and III studies with sorafenib in differentiated thyroid cancer and the lack of availability of registered tyrosine kinase inhibitors, vandetabin and cabozantinib in Hungary, we designed a uncontrolled, prospective efficacy and safety study of patients with metastatic MTC treated with first-line sorafenib in five Hungarian oncology centers. Methods Ten consecutive patients with progressive or symptomatic metastatic MTC were included and started sorafenib 400  mg twice a day between June 2012 and March 2016. The primary end point was median progression-free survival (mPFS). Secondary endpoints included disease control rate, biochemical response, symptomatic response and toxicity. Results Four patients achieved partial remission (40%) according to RECIST 1.1 evaluation. Five patients had stable disease beyond 12 months (50%) and one patient had progressive disease (10%). Median PFS was 19.1 months. The disease control rate was 90%. Association between radiologic response and biochemical or symptomatic response was inconsistent. Most common side effects were Grade 1-2 fatigue (60%), palmar-plantar erythrodysesthesia, rash/dermatitis 50-50%, alopecia 40%. Conclusions In our prospective case series in patients with MTC first-line sorafenib showed at least similar efficacy as in other small phase II trials and case reports. Based on comparable efficacy with registered tyrosine kinase inhibitors and it’s manageable toxicity profile, we believe that sorafenib has role in the sequential treatment of MTC.


2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Simone De Leo ◽  
Matteo Trevisan ◽  
Laura Fugazzola

AbstractAnaplastic thyroid cancer (ATC) is undoubtedly the thyroid cancer histotype with the poorest prognosis. The conventional treatment includes surgery, radiotherapy, and conventional chemotherapy. Surgery should be as complete as possible, securing the airway and ensuring access for nutritional support; the current standard of care of radiotherapy is the intensity-modulated radiation therapy; chemotherapy includes the use of doxorubicin or taxanes (paclitaxel or docetaxel) generally with platin (cisplatin or carboplatin). However, frequently, these treatments are not sufficient and a systemic treatment with kinase inhibitors is necessary. These include multitarget tyrosine kinase inhibitors (Lenvatinib, Sorafenib, Sunitinib, Vandetanib, Axitinib, Pazopanib, Pyrazolo-pyrimidine compounds), single target tyrosine kinase inhibitors (Dabrafenib plus Trametinib and Vemurafenib against BRAF, Gefitinib against EGFR, PPARγ ligands (e.g. Efatutazone), Everolimus against mTOR, vascular disruptors (e.g. Fosbretabulin), and immunotherapy (e.g. Spartalizumab and Pembrolizumab, which are anti PD-1/PD-L1 molecules). Therapy should be tailored to the patients and to the tumor genetic profile. A BRAF mutation analysis is mandatory, but a wider evaluation of tumor mutational status (e.g. by next-generation sequencing) is desirable. When a BRAFV600E mutation is detected, treatment with Dabrafenib and Trametinib should be preferred: this combination has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of patients with locally advanced or metastatic ATC with BRAFV600E mutation and with no satisfactory locoregional treatment options. Alternatively, Lenvatinib, regardless of mutational status, reported good results and was approved in Japan for treating unresectable tumors. Other single target mutation agents with fair results are Everolimus when a mutation involving the PI3K/mTOR pathway is detected, Imatinib in case of PDGF-receptors overexpression, and Spartalizumab in case of PD-L1 positive tumors. Several trials are currently evaluating the possible beneficial role of a combinatorial therapy in ATC. Since in this tumor several genetic alterations are usually found, the aim is to inhibit or disrupt several pathways: these combination strategies use therapy targeting angiogenesis, survival, proliferation, and may act against both MAPK and PI3K pathways. Investigating new treatment options is eagerly awaited since, to date, even the molecules with the best radiological results have not been able to provide a durable disease control.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document