STUDIES OF THYROID DISEASES

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Recruitment of high risk thyroid cancer patients for combination therapy with I-131 and low dose doxorubicin has been discontinued because the number of referrals has been insufficient to evaluate therapeutic effectiveness. Combined therapy is continuing, however, with 8 patients randomized to this treatment arm and toxicity will be evaluated and compared with controls who received I-131 alone. The toxicity data will be important for therapy recommendations. The phase I/II study of recombinant human TSH in recently operated thyroid cancer patients has been completed and the results are being evaluated. Because of encouraging initial results a phase III study is now underway with patients in varying stages of their disease. This multi-institutional study is in collaboration with Bruce Weintraub and the Genzyme Corporation, and is expected to improve testing for residual or recurrent thyroid cancer. In conjunction with development of epidemiological studies to evaluate the apparent increased incidence of thyroid cancer in children affected by the nuclear power plant accident in Chernobyl, a workshop was held to evaluate some clinical management problems that ensued. It was concluded that the aggressive behavior of the disease in these children is characteristic of thyroid cancer in this age group and not a result of radiation. It was also concluded that potential preventive therapy with L-thyroxine on a broad scale is not indicated at this time.