OBJECTIVE: No genomic data have been put forth that prove beyond a shadow of doubt that sporadic medullary thyroid cancer (MTC) occurs in infancy, childhood, and/or adolescence.
METHODS: This was a retrospective comparative study of consecutive patients with MTC who had neck surgery at a tertiary center over a 30-year period.
RESULTS: Included were 1252 patients with MTC (337 hereditary and 915 sporadic), of whom 107 (8.5%) were operated before the age of 18 yrs. Only 4 (3.7%) of the 107 pediatric patients, aged 14, 16, 17 and 17 years, had sporadic MTC. These 4 patients, 3 of whom had been referred for completion surgery, revealed much larger thyroid tumors (medians of 20 mm vs. 1.5-5 mm) than the 103 pediatric patients with hereditary MTC. As for extrathyroid extension and nodal metastases, the 4 patients with sporadic MTC were more comparable to the 37 carriers of highest-risk mutations, 31 (84%) of whom were index patients with de novo disease, than to the 66 carriers of high-risk, intermediate-risk, or low-risk RET mutations (25-38% vs. 0-8%, and medians of 9-9.5 vs. 0 node metastases after dissection of more (medians of 72-91.5 vs. 4.5-9) nodes).
CONCLUSIONS: Sporadic MTC, arising rarely, if ever, below the age of 14 years, is exceptional in infancy and childhood, and infrequent in adolescence. At diagnosis, it is almost as widely metastatic as hereditary MTC of the highest-risk category which almost always, like sporadic MTC, presents as de novo disease.

Medullary thyroid carcinoma (MTC) accounts for only 3% of all thyroid carcinomas: 75% as sporadic MTC (sMTC) and 25% as hereditary MTC (hMTC) in the context of multiple endocrine neoplasia type 2 (MEN2). Early diagnosis is possible by determining the tumour marker calcitonin (Ctn) when clarifying nodular goitre and by detecting the mutation in the proto-oncogene RET in the MEN2 families. If the Ctn level is only slightly elevated, up to 30 pg/ml in women and up to 60 pg/ml in men, follow-up checks are advisable. At higher levels, surgery should be considered; at a level of > 100 pg/ml, surgery is always advisable. The treatment of choice is total thyroidectomy, possibly with central lymphadenectomy. In the early stage, cure is possible with adequate surgery; in the late stage, treatment with tyrosine kinase inhibitors is an option. RET A mutation analysis should be performed on all patients with MTC. During follow-up, a biochemical distinction is made between: healed (Ctn not measurably low), biochemically incomplete (Ctn increased without tumour detection) and structural tumour detection (metastases on imaging). After MTC surgery, the following results should be available for classification in follow-up care: (i) histology, Ctn immunohistology if necessary, (ii) classification according to the pTNM scheme, (iii) the result of the RET analysis for categorisation into the hereditary or sporadic variant and (iiii) the postoperative Ctn value. Tumour progression is determined by assessing the Ctn doubling time and the RECIST criteria on imaging. In most cases, \"active surveillance\" is possible. In the case of progression and symptoms, the following applies: local (palliative surgery, radiotherapy) before systemic (tyrosine kinase inhibitors).

Medullary thyroid cancer (MTC) is the most frequent manifestation of multiple endocrine neoplasia type 2 (MEN2) that determines the oncological outcome. Germline mutations in the rearranged during transfection (RET) protooncogene, a tumor suppressor gene on chromosome 10q11.2, were identified 30 years ago as the genetic basis of MEN2 and published in 1993 and 1994. These seminal findings gave rise to the concept of prophylactic thyroidectomy for asymptomatic gene mutation carriers based on a positive RET gene test, which has become the standard of care ever since. Clinical genetic investigations showed genotype-phenotype correlations with respect to the individual gene mutation regarding the penetrance and onset of MTC and to a lesser extent also with respect to the other components of MEN2, pheochromocytoma and primary hyperparathyroidism. From this a clinically relevant risk stratification could be derived. Initially, the optimal timing of prophylactic thyroidectomy was primarily based on the RET genotype alone, which was not sufficient for a precise age recommendation and subsequently required additional consideration of calcitonin serum levels for fine tuning. Calcitonin levels first show the risk of lymph node metastasis when they exceed the upper normal limit of the assay independent of carrier age and RET mutation. Routine calcitonin screening of patients with nodular thyroid disease, screening of families on identification of MEN2 index patients, and pre-emptive thyroidectomy in carriers of gene mutations with normal calcitonin levels have led to the fact that nowadays, 30 years after the first description of the gene mutations causing the disease, the life-threatening hereditary MTC has become curable: a shining example for the success of translational transnational medical research for the benefit of patients.
UNASSIGNED: Das medulläre Schilddrüsenkarzinom (MTC) ist die häufigste das onkologische Outcome bestimmende Manifestation der multiplen endokrinen Neoplasie (MEN) Typ 2. Vor 30 Jahren konnten die Keimbahnmutationen im RET(REarranged-during-Transfection)-Protoonkogen, einem Tumorsuppressorgen auf Chromosom 10q11.2, als Ursache der MEN2 identifiziert und 1993 und 1994 erstveröffentlicht werden. Hieraus entwickelte sich das Konzept der prophylaktischen Thyreoidektomie für asymptomatische Genmutationsträger, das seither Therapiestandard ist. Klinisch-genetische Untersuchungen zeigten hinsichtlich der individuellen Genmutation eine Genotyp-Phänotyp-Korrelation sowohl hinsichtlich der Penetranz und des Entstehungszeitraums des MTC und in geringerem Ausmaß auch hinsichtlich der anderen MEN2-Komponenten Phäochromozytom und primärer Hyperparathyreoidismus. Daraus konnte eine klinisch relevante Risikostratifizierung abgeleitet werden. Die allein genotypbasierte, aber nicht hinreichend genaue Altersempfehlung für den besten Zeitpunkt der prophylaktischen Thyreoidektomie wurde in der Folgezeit durch Kombination des RET-Genotyps mit dem Kalzitoninwert präzisiert, der mutations- und altersunabhängig erst bei Überschreiten des oberen Kalzitoninnormwertes das Risiko einer Lymphknotenmetastasierung anzeigt. Die routinemäßige Kalzitoninbestimmung bei Knotenstrumen, das Familienscreening bei MEN2-Indexpatienten und die karzinompräventive prophylaktische Thyreoidektomie bei normokalzitoninämischen Genmutationsträgern haben dazu geführt, dass heute, 30 Jahre nach der Erstbeschreibung der krankheitsverursachenden Genmutationen, das lebensbedrohende hereditäre MTC heilbar geworden ist: ein leuchtendes Beispiel für den Erfolg translational transnationaler medizinischer Forschung zum Wohl der Betroffenen.

Medullary thyroid carcinoma (MTC) is a neuroendocrine tumor originating from the parafollicular cells (C cells) of the thyroid gland, classified as sporadic and hereditary. Calcitonin (Ctn) secreted by the C cells is a specific serological marker for MTC, which is of great value in diagnosis, treatment and postoperative management of MTC. The effect of chemoradiotherapy and 131I therapy on MTC is limited, with surgery being the primary therapy. Given the aggressive nature and relatively poor prognosis of MTC, the reasonable surgical extent is crucial for improving cure rate and prognosis of patients. However, there are still some controversies regarding the extent of surgery for MTC. This article elaborates on the research progress and controversies of serum Ctn levels in assisting the evaluation of the extent of surgery for MTC.
甲状腺髓样癌（MTC）是一种起源于甲状腺滤泡旁细胞（C细胞）的神经内分泌肿瘤，分为散发性和遗传性。C细胞分泌的降钙素（Ctn）是MTC特异性的血清学标志物，在MTC的诊断、治疗及术后管理中具有重要价值。放化疗及131I对MTC的治疗效果十分有限，手术为目前MTC的主要治疗方式。MTC侵袭性较强、预后相对较差，因此，合理的手术范围对于提高患者的治愈率及改善预后具有重要意义。然而，目前关于MTC的手术范围仍存在部分争议，现就血清Ctn水平在协助评估MTC手术范围的研究进展及争议进行阐述。.

Medullary Carcinoma of the Colon (MCC) is a rare histological subtype of colon cancer, and there is currently no recognized optimal treatment plan for it, with its prognosis remaining unclear. The aim of this study is to analyze the independent prognostic factors for MCC patients and develop and validate nomograms to predict overall survival (OS). A total of 760 patients newly diagnosed with MCC from 2004 to 2020 were selected from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database. All patients were randomly allocated to a training group and a validation group in a 7:3 ratio. Univariate and multivariable Cox regression analyses were conducted to identify prognostic factors and construct nomograms. The nomogram prediction model was evaluated and validated using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves, calibration curves, and decision curve analysis (DCA). The study found that elderly women are more susceptible to MCC, and the ascending colon and cecum are the most common sites of involvement. MCC is poorly differentiated, with stages II and III being the most common. Surgery is the primary treatment for MCC. The prognosis for patients with stage IV MCC is poor, with a median survival time of only 10 months. Independent prognostic factors for MCC include age, N stage, M stage, surgery, chemotherapy, and tumor size. Among them, age < 75 years and completion of chemotherapy were protective factors for colon medullary carcinoma, while N2 (HR = 2.18, 95%CI 1.40-3.38), M1 (HR = 3.31, 95%CI 2.01-5.46), no surgery (HR = 27.94, 95%CI 3.69-211.75), and tumor diameter > 7 cm (HR = 1.66, 95%CI 1.20-2.30) were risk factors for colon medullary carcinoma. The results of ROC, AUC, calibration curves, and DCA demonstrate that the nomogram prediction model exhibits good predictive performance. We have updated the demographic characteristics of colon medullary carcinoma and identified age, N staging, M staging, surgery, chemotherapy and tumor size as independent prognostic factors for colon medullary carcinoma. Additionally, we have established nomograms for prognostic prediction. These nomograms can provide personalized predictions and serve as valuable references for clinical decision-making.

暂无摘要。

A 13-year old Latino male presented with recurrent gross hematuria, 5cm right-sided poorly defined heterogeneous mass, enlarged retrocaval lymph nodes, and 1.2 cm paratracheal lymph node. Given the need for multiple blood transfusions, robot-assisted radical nephrectomy with lymph node dissection was performed. Pathology revealed pT3a high-grade tumor, clear margins, and positive lymph node. Additionally, with multiple sickled RBCs and loss of staining of SMARCB1 in tumor specimen, and hemoglobin electrophoresis suggesting sickle cell trait, diagnosis of metastatic renal medullary carcinoma was confirmed. The patient was enrolled into COG AREN 03B2 trial, and has completed 10 cycles of carboplatin/gemcitabine/bortezomib alternating with cisplatin/gemcitabine/paclitaxel, with no evidence of recurrent disease 9 months post-surgery.

UNASSIGNED: Different pathological types of colorectal cancer have distinguished immune landscape, and the efficacy of immunotherapy will be completely different. Colorectal medullary carcinoma, accounting for 2.2-3.2%, is characterized by massive lymphocyte infiltration. However, the attention to the immune characteristics of colorectal medullary carcinoma is insufficient.
UNASSIGNED: We searched the literature about colorectal medullary carcinoma on PubMed through November 2023to investigate the hallmarks of colorectal medullary carcinoma\'s immune landscape, compare medullary carcinoma originating from different organs and provide theoretical evidence for precise treatment, including applying immunotherapy and BRAF inhibitors.
UNASSIGNED: Colorectal medullary carcinoma is a pathological subtype with intense immune response, with six immune characteristics and has the potential to benefit from immunotherapy. Mismatch repair deficiency, ARID1A missing and BRAF V600E mutation often occurs. IFN-γ pathway is activated and PD-L1 expression is increased. Abundant lymphocyte infiltration performs tumor killing function. In addition, BRAF mutation plays an important role in the occurrence and development, and we can consider the combination of BRAF inhibitors and immunotherapy in patients with BRAF mutant. The exploration of colorectal medullary carcinoma will arouse researchers\' attention to the correlation between pathological subtypes and immune response, and promote the process of precise immunotherapy.

BACKGROUND: Sporadic medullary thyroid carcinoma (sMTC) rarely occurs in childhood and no studies have specifically focused on this entity.
OBJECTIVE: To describe the clinical presentations and long-term outcomes of a large cohort of children and young adults with sMTC compared with hereditary MTC (hMTC).
METHODS: Retrospective study of 144 patients diagnosed with MTC between 1961 and 2019 at an age ≤ 21 years and evaluated at a tertiary referral center.
RESULTS: In contrast to hMTC (n = 124/144, 86%), patients with sMTC (n = 20/144, 14%) are older (P < .0001), have larger tumors (P < .0001), a higher initial stage grouping (P = .001) and have more structural disease (P = .0045) and distant metastases (DM) (P = .00084) at last follow-up, but are not more likely to die from MTC (P = .42). Among 77 patients diagnosed clinically, not by family history (20/20 sMTC and 57/124 hMTC), there was no difference in the initial stage (P = .27), presence of DM at diagnosis (P = 1.0), disease status at last follow-up (P = .13), overall survival (P = .57), or disease-specific survival (P = .87). Of the 12 sMTC tumors that underwent somatic testing, 11 (91%) had an identifiable alteration: 10 RET gene alterations and 1 ALK fusion.
CONCLUSIONS: sMTC is primarily a RET-driven disease that represents 14% of childhood-onset MTC in this cohort. Pediatric sMTC patients are older, present with clinical disease at a more advanced TNM classification, and have more persistent disease at last follow-up compared with hMTC, but these differences disappear when comparing those presenting clinically. Somatic molecular testing should be considered in sMTC patients who would benefit from systemic therapy.

We experienced a case of multiple endocrine neoplasia type 2A(MEN2A)diagnosed with medullary thyroid carcinoma. The patient was a 50s woman who was referred for a thyroid nodule detected in the right lobe during a carotid ultrasound examination. After undergoing a hemithyroidectomy, it was determined that the tumor was medullary carcinoma. RET gene test was performed, confirming a mutation at codon768, leading to the diagnosis of MEN2A. A completion thyroidectomy was performed to remove the remaining thyroid tissue. Postoperatively, the patient is undergoing systemic surveillance.