American Thyroid Association's National Thyroid Cancer Workshop II

Newswise — Thyroid cancer experts will present the latest recommendations for treating thyroid cancer at the American Thyroid Association's (ATA) National Thyroid Cancer Workshop II "Frontiers in Thyroid Cancer: ATA Guidelines in Clinical Practice" held January 23-24, 2009 at the Loews Miami Beach Hotel, Miami Beach, Florida.

New, evidence-based guidelines, developed by an ATA task force of thyroid cancer experts and published in the journal Thyroid in 2006, addressed controversies and provoked new ideas regarding the diagnosis and initial management of thyroid cancer, a disease with increased incidence over the last 30 years. Updates, discussion and debate on those Guidelines will be offered during the workshop.

"The ATA continues to bring its updated Management Guidelines to the regional medical community," said Richard Kloos, M.D. program chair and secretary/chief operating officer of the ATA. "This workshop will help bring to life these state-of-the-art documents and help clinicians from many disciplines apply these guidelines to patient care."

The workshop, said Dr. Kloos, was designed to bring together endocrinologists, surgeons, nuclear medicine physicians and respective subspecialty fellows to address a variety of thyroid cancer topics, including:

* Recent developments in the management of thyroid cancer and integration of new diagnostic and follow-up paradigms and the latest thyroid cancer therapies.* Integrating changes in treatment that result from the evolving demography of thyroid cancer.* The pathophysiology of thyroid cancer as it relates to new thyroid cancer drugs.* New drugs for managing differentiated thyroid carcinoma and medullary thyroid carcinoma.

Dr. Kloos pointed out that almost 40,000 Americans are newly diagnosed with thyroid cancer annually, with papillary thyroid cancer the most prevalent and comprising 70 to 80 percent of all thyroid cancers that occur at any age.

Topics presented, discussed and debated during the ATA's National Thyroid Cancer Workshop II include: thyroid nodules: diagnostic and therapeutic dilemmas; DTC molecular-based therapy and clinical trials; initial management of low and high risk tumors; anaplastic thyroid cancer; thyroid cancer treatment among the elderly; thyroid cancer treatment during pregnancy: and when to stop treating with radioiodine.

More than 25 information sessions will be accompanied by question and answer forums, panel discussions and debate sessions.

Over 255,000 free copies of the 2006 Guidelines were downloaded from the ATA Website between 2006 and 2007. For a free copy of the Guidelines, go to: http://thyroid.org/professionals/publications/guidelines.html.

Members of the media can find additional information in the ATA Media Room, the Lucina Room, on the 3rd floor of the Loews Miami Beach Hotel.

The American Thyroid Association (ATA), a non-profit medical society founded in 1923, is the lead organization in promoting thyroid health and understanding thyroid biology. The ATA values scientific inquiry, clinical excellence, public service, education, collaboration and collegiality.

ATA fulfills its mission through supporting excellence and innovation in research, clinical care, education and public health. ATA members are physicians and scientists who work to enhance the understanding of thyroid physiology and pathophysiology, improve diagnosis and treatment of thyroid diseases, and promote the education of physicians, patients and the public about thyroid disorders.

Thyroid diseases are among the most common disorders of the endocrine system, affecting almost 13 million Americans. The ATA has extensive online information on thyroid disease for patients in both English and Spanish and serves as the clinical resource for patients and the public who look for reliable information on the Internet. To further benefit patients, the ATA Alliance for Patient Education was formed in 2002 to offer exchange of information between the ATA and patient education groups: ThyCa: Thyroid Survivors 'Association; the Light of Life Foundation, and the National Graves' Disease Foundation. A public forum is held each year in conjunction with the ATA Annual Meeting.

Thyroid Research grants to young investigators total over $275,000 annually. Sources referenced by this research and application procedures are available at www.thyroid.org The 80th Annual Meeting of the ATA will be held in Palm Beach, Florida September 23-27, 2009 at the Breakers Hotel. All registration and program information will be available at www.thyroid.org. We welcome your participation.