Efforts to treat pediatric papillary thyroid cancer are greatly improved by detecting the disease as early as possible, making the patient’s age the most important factor in determining a prognosis, according to new research published in the February 2008 issue of the journal Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery.

A specific gene mutation may be useful in predicting the level of aggression of thyroid cancer and help guide treatment options and follow-up care, according to new study findings.

The investigational drug axitinib produced tumor regression or stable disease in almost three-out-of-four patients with advanced thyroid cancer, a research team reported at the annual meeting of the American Society for Clinical Oncology in Chicago.

Percutaneous ethanol injection (PEI)-an injection of ethanol (alcohol) through the skin directly into a bone tumor to kill cancer cells-may be a valuable ancillary treatment for thyroid cancer patients whose cancer has spread to the bone.