Response to Sunitinib in Medullary Thyroid Cancer

  1. Fergal C. Kelleher, MB, MSc; and
  2. Raymond McDermott, MD, PhD
  1. From Adelaide and Meath Hospital, Dublin 24, Ireland.

    Background: Medullary thyroid cancer (MTC) is the most aggressive form of well-differentiated thyroid cancer. Of all known cases, 80% are sporadic. Sporadic cases tend to present with advanced disease. In advanced disease, systemic chemotherapy is associated with low response rates of short duration. The rearranged in transformation (RET) proto-oncogene has a high frequency of aberrant expression in MTC, and trials of agents directed against this target are ongoing. In preclinical work, Kim and colleagues (1) have shown that sunitinib is a potent inhibitor of the RET/papillary thyroid cancer (PTC) kinase, and iatrogenic hypothyroidism is increasingly recognized in patients treated with this agent (2, 3).

    Objective: To describe a case of …

    [Full Text of this Article]

    Summary for Patients

    • Article:Hypothyroidism after Sunitinib Treatment for Patients with Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumors
      • Jayesh Desai,
      • Leila Yassa,
      • Ellen Marqusee,
      • Suzanne George,
      • Mary C. Frates,
      • Ming Hui Chen,
      • Jeffrey A. Morgan,
      • Samuel S. Dychter,
      • P. Reed Larsen,
      • George D. Demetri,
      • and Erik K. Alexander
      Ann Intern Med November 7, 2006 145:660-664
    « Previous | Next Article »Table of Contents

    This Article

    1. Ann Intern Med April 1, 2008 vol. 148 no. 7 567
    1. » Excerpt
    2. Figures
    3. Full Text
    4. Full Text (PDF)
      1. Summary for Patients

    Rapid Responses

    1. Submit a response
    2. No responses published

    Current Issue

    1. November 17, 2009, 151 (10)
    1. Alert me to current issues