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77 active trials for Thyroid Cancer

Focus on Values to Stimulate Shared Decisions

Most patients with non-medullary thyroid carcinoma (TC) achieve remission after primary treatment. Nonetheless, 30% develop recurrent disease and/or distant metastases resulting in worse survival. Patients with low- and intermediate-risk, whilst having a good prognosis, generally undergo similar primary treatment as those with a high-risk disease and face the risk of complications and burden of treatment, without a proven benefit in long-term outcome. For these patients, current guidelines state that less aggressive treatment (e.g. hemi-thyroidectomy vs. total thyroidectomy, and selective use of radioiodine (RAI) therapy), and tailored follow-up can be equally acceptable leaving room for patients' preferences. For high- risk patients, important unanswered question regard the optimal timing of starting tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKI). For those who are asymptomatic or only mildly symptomatic, starting the treatment too early may expose them to side effects and impair quality of life, without evidence of a survival benefit. Different patients have different views on these decisions, and so do physicians. Therefore, care should honour preferences and values of individual patients, and care should involve patients through shared decision making (SDM). The principle of SDM is twofold: 1. physicians provide patients with information on the existing options, and 2. help patients identify their preferences considering their individual values and needs. This involves important life values, for instance the desire to do everything possible, or to minimise complaints. Addressing patients' treatment-related values is arguably the most difficult part of SDM so patient values are less likely to be discussed and honoured in a consultation. Current tools improve values deliberation but their effects are clearly insufficient. Tools should be integrated and applied in consultations to increase effectiveness. To strengthen values deliberation with TC as an example, a multifaceted intervention, COMBO, is proposed including 1) a patient values clarification exercise, named SDM-booster, 2) a physician values deliberation training using the SDM-booster, and 3) a patient decision aid. The SDM-booster strengthens values deliberation by 1) strengthening and clarifying patients' values and preferences, 2) communicating patients' values in the consultation, 3) serving as a focus in the values deliberation training.

Start: March 2020
Clinical Trial in RAI-Refractory Thyroid Carcinoma Evaluating BRAF & MEK Blockade for Re-differentiation Therapy

Progressive and metastatic thyroid cancer patients, who no longer respond to radioactive iodine (RAI), are currently treated with long term tyrosine kinase inhibitors to control tumor growth. The investigators will study the effect of short term oral anti-cancer drug combination, called dabrafenib (BRAF inhibitor) and trametinib (MEK inhibitor), in improving thyroid cancer RAI absorption that can potentially lead to tumor shrinkage response. To assess for suitability, participant's thyroid cancer tissue taken at the time of surgery will be tested for DNA changes, such as BRAFV600E, RAS, or MEK mutations. Based on experimental studies, the response to these medications could occur within 1 week of treatment. So in the study, the investigators will find out whether participant's cancer would respond to 1 week of treatment with these medications rather than the 1 month duration of treatment in previous re-differentiation clinical trials. After 1 week of treatment with dabrafenib and trametinib, iodine absorption I-124 PET-CT scan will predict if the cancer will respond to RAI. If iodine absorption is insufficient on the scan, treatment with dabrafenib and trametinib will be continued for a total of 4 weeks. Then iodine absorption response of participant's cancer will be assessed on I-124 PET-CT scan again. If the iodine absorption is good at 1 week or 4 weeks, the investigators will treat the participant with thyroid cancer using RAI. The 1-week treatment regime can potentially save cost, avoid drug toxicity with prolonged treatment, and prevent drug resistance that can occur with longer treatment period.

Start: December 2020
Predicting Prognosis and Recurrence of Thyroid Cancer Via New Biomarkers, Urinary Exosomal Thyroglobulin and Galectin-3

Although thyroid cancers are low-grade endocrine malignancy, most patients usually received thyroidectomy with ablative radioactive iodine therapy. Such patients were followed with thyroid ultrasonography and serial serum thyroglobulin evaluation. Prior researches indicated that one-third well-differentiated thyroid cancers could transform to poorly-differentiated patterns, even to be anaplastic thyroid cancer (ATC), a fatal malignancy, and no effective therapeutic strategies was noted, including surgical intervention, chemotherapy and radiotherapy. The poorly-differentiated or anaplastic change of thyroid cancer cells proliferates rapidly and always invades local tissues with distant metastasis. Cellular de-differentiation is the most pivotal cause for malignant transformation and invasion. De-differentiation usually in papillary thyroid cancer and follicular thyroid cancer, and definitely in ATC. Therefore, the investigators try to find the biological markers and therapeutic targets via the exosomal expression in urine. On the continuing basis of prior ATC cells culture experiments. Exosomes are nanovesicles secreted into extracellular environments. Cancer cell-derived exosomes could be found in plasma, saliva, urine and other body fluid of patients with cancer. The investigators try to analyze the urinary exosomal proteins, including thyroglobulin and galectin-3, to find the early prognostic biological markers in urine via this prospective study. The investigators expected to enroll 150 post-operative patients with papillary, follicular or anaplastic thyroid cancer, and collect the urine samples in outpatient clinic per year. The investigators will analyze the urine exosomal proteins and probable biological markers, including thyroglobulin and galectin-3. The investigators hope to find the prognostic biological markers via this prospective study. The investigators further hope to find newly therapeutic and follow-up pathway for such patients with well-differentiated or anaplastic thyroid cancer.

Start: August 2018