Progress in thyroid cancer.

The last decade has seen significant advances in our understanding of thyroid cancers, in the areas of the molecular genetics and biology of these tumors, in effective use of preoperative diagnostic tools, and in appropriate long-term follow-up care. Studies of the roles of oncogenes, growth factors, and familial susceptibility factors offer the potential for further improvement in making early, accurate diagnoses. Objective prognostic scoring systems, now under development, can accurately separate the minority of papillary and follicular thyroid cancer patients at high risk for recurrence and mortality from the majority who do not need aggressive treatment. These systems will permit effective design of future studies of the impact on disease outcome of radioactive iodine treatment and follow-up testing by new imaging methods on disease outcome.