Classification of Thyroid Diseases

Abstract

The aim of this chapter is the proposal for a new, more analytical approach to the classification of thyroid diseases based on the most up-to-date clinical outcome studies and molecular-biological data. These findings have shown that patients with low-risk thyroid cancer, the most common type being the noninvasive encapsulated follicular variant of papillary thyroid carcinoma (EnFvPTC), are usually at decreased risk of adverse outcome, this pointing to the need for less aggressive treatment in these subjects. The proposed reclassification could crucially differentiate between those patients who can benefit from a surveillance approach and those who should be operated on and, potentially, undergo radioiodine therapy, a development that would beneficially impact the quality of life of many patients worldwide suffering from thyroid cancer.