Preface

Thyroid cancer is the most common endocrine cancer. It is treated by thyroidectomy and radioiodine administration followed by life-long thyroxine administration. However, until recently, there was no medical treatment for advanced thyroid cancer. Advances in the genetics of thyroid cancer and in the treatment of other forms of cancer with tyrosine kinase inhibitors have enabled the application of this very recent knowledge in the treatment of advanced thyroid cancer. The application of this knowledge has revolutionized the treatment of advanced thyroid cancer.

The first section of this book focuses on the genetics of thyroid cancer. In Chapter 1, Fabienne Lesueur and Thérèse Truong discuss the genetic susceptibility to differentiated thyroid cancer. In Chapter 2, Professor Mehdi Hedayati and Dr. Shabnam Heydarzadeh examine the impact of ret-protooncogene mutations on the diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis of medullary thyroid cancer. In Chapter 3, Yun Yu and Richard Crooijmans discuss the genomics of familial thyroid cancer in dogs. In Chapter 4, Dr. Gerardo Hernán Carro and Dr. Juan Pablo Nicola review the molecular basis of radioiodine treatment in thyroid cancer.

The second section of this book focuses on treatment of thyroid cancer. In Chapter 5, Dr. Ifigenia Kostoglou-Athanassiou discusses recent developments in the medical treatment of advanced thyroid cancer. In Chapter 6, Professor Aisyah Elliyanti discusses the indications for radioiodine therapy in differentiated thyroid cancer. In Chapter 7, Dr. Thomachan Kainichal Cessal reviews systemic therapy in thyroid cancer. In Chapter 8, Dr. Thomachan Kainichal Cessal highlights recent advances in the management of anaplastic thyroid carcinoma. In Chapter 9, Dr. Tom Chi-Man Chow and Dr. Shirley Yuk-Wah Liu examine the significance of lymph node metastasis in thyroid cancer. Finally, in Chapter 10, Dr. Thomachan Kainichal Cessal discusses external beam radiotherapy in differentiated thyroid cancer.

I would like to thank the contributing authors for their excellent chapters. I also acknowledge the assistance of Author Service Manager Nika Karamatic at IntechOpen. I am extremely grateful to my family, especially my husband Dr. Panagiotis Athanassiou and my children Lambros and Yannis for their continuous help and support over the years.

Last, but not least, I dedicate this book to my mother Areti, whose example and efforts have made it possible for me to become the editor of this book.

> **Ifigenia Kostoglou-Athanassiou, MSc, MD, Ph.D.** Endocrinologist, Department of Endocrinology, Asclepeion Hospital, Voula, Athens, Greece

**1**

Section 1

Genetics of Thyroid Cancer

Section 1
