Thyroid cancer: SEOM clinical guidelines

Abstract

Thyroid cancer (TC) is the most common type of endocrine malignancy and accounts for nearly 3 % of all malignancies. The incidence of TC in Spain was 5/100,000 in women and 1.9/100,000 in men in 2013. The diagnosis of TC usually follows the identification of a thyroid nodule on physical examination or as an incidental finding on diagnostic imaging performed for other reasons. In most of the cases, the prognosis is excellent but despite low mortality rates, local recurrence occurs in up to 20 %, and distant metastases can occur in approximately 10 % at 10 years. The better knowledge of molecular biology of TC has allowed to the development of new targeted agents directed to the main pathways involved in TC pathogenesis. Knowing all these new strategies will help us face the therapeutic management of TC more effectively.