During the American Thyroid Association’s (ATA) 80th Annual Meeting September 23-27, 2009, held at The Breakers Hotel in Palm Beach, Florida, David S. Cooper, MD, professor of medicine at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, will present the ATA’s revised guidelines for the management of thyroid nodules and differentiated thyroid cancer covering nodule evaluation, surgery, therapy and criteria for being “free of disease.”

Dr. Cooper will refer to a number of case studies.

Differentiated Thyroid Cancer (DTC) Guidelines cover nodule evaluation, surgery, follow-up therapy and monitoring.

Following the update by Dr. Cooper, Richard T. Kloos, MD, chair of the ATA Medullary Thyroid Cancer (MTC) Guidelines Task Force, secretary and chief operating officer of the ATA will present an update on the guidelines for treating medullary thyroid cancer.

“Medullary thyroid cancer is a rare, challenging and complex disease accounting for about four percent of all thyroid cancer cases in the U.S.,” says Dr. Kloos, who also serves as co-director of the Ohio State University Thyroid Cancer Unit. “The ATA guidelines promote optimal medical care grounded in evidence-based literature by an international and interdisciplinary panel.”

The guidelines cover diagnosis and therapy, genetic testing, surgical management and post-surgical treatment and long-term follow-up.

The symposium for guidelines updates is Saturday September 25 from 9:00 a.m. to 10:15 a.m.

The American Thyroid Association (ATA) is the lead organization in promoting thyroid health and understanding thyroid biology. The ATA values scientific inquiry, clinical excellence, public service, education, collaboration, and collegiality.

A non-profit medical society founded in 1923, the ATA fulfills its mission through supporting excellence and innovation in research, clinical care, education, and public health. ATA members are physicians and scientists who work to enhance the understanding of thyroid physiology and pathophysiology, improve the diagnosis and treatment of thyroid diseases, and promote the education of physicians, patients, and the public about thyroid disorders. The official journal “Thyroid” of the ATA is published monthly. “Clinical Thyroidology” is published online monthly for the benefit of clinicians and scientists around the world.

Thyroid diseases are among the most common disorders of the endocrine system, affecting almost 13 million Americans alone. The ATA has extensive online information for patients on thyroid disease (in English and Spanish) serving the clinician as a resource for patients and the public who look for reliable information on the internet. To further benefit patients, the ATA publishes an online journal “Clinical Thyroidology for Patients.” The Alliance for Patient Education was formed in 2002 to offer an exchange of information between the ATA and patient education groups: ThyCa: Thyroid Cancer Survivors’ Association, Inc.; the Light of Life Foundation, and the Graves’ Disease Foundation. A public forum is held each year in conjunction with the ATA annual meeting.

Source: American Thyroid Association