Most thyroid cancers — papillary and follicular — are highly curable with surgery and radioactive iodine. Research now focuses on de-escalating treatment for low-risk cancers and on new targeted drugs for the smaller group with advanced or aggressive disease, including medullary and anaplastic thyroid cancer.
What's actually going on in research
Trials are testing active surveillance for very small papillary cancers, RET- and BRAF-targeted drugs for advanced disease, less-extensive surgery, and treatments for radioactive-iodine-resistant cancers. Researchers are also studying outcomes for thyroid cancer in pregnancy, in children, and in survivors monitored long term.
Active surveillance
For very small low-risk papillary thyroid cancers, monitoring with ultrasound is being studied as an alternative to immediate surgery. Many never grow.
Targeted therapy
Pills targeting RET, BRAF, and NTRK changes are highly effective in advanced thyroid cancers carrying these mutations. Even anaplastic thyroid cancer, once nearly untreatable, now has options.
Less extensive surgery
Lobectomy (removing half the thyroid) instead of full removal is increasingly used for small low-risk cancers. Trials are refining who is a safe candidate.
What to know before you search
Eligibility often depends on cancer type (papillary, follicular, medullary, anaplastic), tumor size, spread to lymph nodes, and specific mutations like RET or BRAF.
What types of trials are currently open
- Treatment trials — Testing targeted drugs and new therapies for advanced or resistant thyroid cancer.
- Surgical trials — Comparing lobectomy with total thyroidectomy and testing newer surgical techniques.
- Active surveillance studies — Following people with very small low-risk thyroid cancers to learn whether monitoring is safe.
- Adjuvant trials — Testing whether radioactive iodine is needed in different risk groups.
- Observational studies — Following thyroid cancer survivors to understand long-term outcomes and recurrence.
Recently added Thyroid Cancer trials
Multimodal Assessment of Malignancy in Atypia of Undetermined Significance in Thyroid Nodules Using Ultrasound and Cytology Whole-Slide Images
The prospective study aim to develop a multimodal deep learning model that integrates ultrasound images and cytological whole-slide images for more accurate malignant risk prediction of Bethesda III thyroid nodules.
Thyroid Carcinoma in Cancer Patients Undergoing Radiotherapy
This study aims to define the optimal surveillance strategy for children exposed to radiotherapy by assessing the incidence, risk factors, and timing of thyroid nodules and differentiated thyroid cancer. It also investigates the genetic features of thyroid tumors in this population to identify predictive biomarkers of onset, malignancy, and aggressiveness. Ultimately, the goal is to support more personalized management, including tailored surgery and targeted therapies.
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