The Emerging Role of Sunitinib in the Treatment of Advanced Epithelial Thyroid Cancer
Pp. 144-155 (12)
Giuseppe Pasqualetti, Sergio Ricci, Valeria Calsolaro, Sara Tognini, Antonio Polini and Fabio Monzani
Abstract
Tyrosine kinase receptors have been shown to play an important role in
epithelial thyroid tumor growth and angiogenesis. Thyroid cancers commonly present
oncogene mutations involved in MAPK kinase pathway like BRAF and RET; they are
also frequently dependent from VEGF stimuli. Preliminary clinical experiences suggest
a promising role of sunitinib (a tyrosine kinase inhibitor) for the treatment of advanced
thyroid cancers. This chapter deals with the available data on the effect of sunitinib in
the treatment of metastatic, radioiodine refractory thyroid cancers.
Keywords:
AKT/PI3K pathways, follicular thyroid cancer, hypothyroidism,
levothyroxine, macrocytosis, MAPK kinase, metastasis, neoangiogenesis,
papillary thyroid cancer, PDGFR-ß, PDGFR-α, radioactive iodine, refractory
DTC, RET, RET/PTC, sunitinib, Thyroid cancer, TSH suppressive, tyrosin-kinase
inhibitor, VEGF, VEGFR.
Affiliation:
Geriatrics Unit, Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University Hospital of Pisa, Via Roma 67, 56126 - Pisa, Italy.