ThyCa To Award New Research Grants in 2018, in Cooperation with ATA and AAES

Grant Applications Open to Researchers Worldwide 

ThyCa: Thyroid Cancer Survivors’ Association Inc., is pleased to announce that it will award four new grants for thyroid cancer research in 2018. 

Three new grant recipients will be selected by an independent expert panel of the American Thyroid Association (ATA), and one grant recipient will be selected by an independent expert panel of the American Association of Endocrine Surgeons (AAES). The panels will rank the proposals according to their scientific merit and select the top proposals.

Each ATA grant will be for 2 years. The AAES grant will be a 1-year grant. ThyCa will also award several continuation grants. 

These are the deadlines:

• January 29 for the 3 new grants with the American Thyroid Association (ATA).  
• Details
• ATA application form
• February 16 for the new grant with the American Association of Endocrine Surgeons (AAES). 
  • Details
  • AES application form

The ATA grants will support: (1) research on follicular-cell-derived thyroid cancer, including papillary, follicular, anaplastic, and variants, (2) research on medullary thyroid cancer, and (3) research on any type of thyroid cancer. One grant will be named the Ric Blake Memorial Thyroid Cancer Research Grant, in memory and honor of ThyCa co-founder Ric Blake. 

ThyCa is committed to supporting research with the goal of cures for all thyroid cancer. ThyCa began funding research grants in 2003. They are the first grants to be funded entirely by thyroid cancer patients, caregivers, and friends. ThyCa has awarded more than $1.9 million for thyroid cancer research, to researchers in Argentina, France, Germany, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, and United States. 

ThyCa thanks all our donors for making possible our research funding program. We invite everyone to join us in our quest to find a cure for all thyroid cancer. 

To find out more about the ThyCa Research Funds and annual Rally for Research, please visit our Rally for Research page. 

Organized by ThyCa, the Conference Features More Than 100 Sessions Designed to Help, Inspire and Support Those Impacted by Thyroid Cancer — Registration Is Open 

ThyCa: Thyroid Cancer Survivors’ Association, Inc., has secured an impressive lineup of more than 50 expert speakers for the 20th International Thyroid Cancer Survivors’ Conference, taking place October 6 – 8, 2017, at the Doubletree by Hilton Baltimore-BWI Airport, 890 Elkridge Landing Road, Linthicum, Maryland. 

This unique educational and supportive conference will feature presentations on the latest medical research and advances in thyroid cancer care for all types of thyroid cancer, Ask-a-Doctor sessions, specialists in insurance and coping skills, and survivor-caregiver roundtables. Each year attendees join from around the world, for this event designed to create learning and support opportunities for patients, families, friends, and caregivers.  

“Thyroid cancer affects people of all ages, and as research and standards of care advance, our conference continues to grow in importance as a crucial resource for support and education,” said Gary Bloom, ThyCa Executive Director and Conference Coordinator. “We invite all survivors affected by the disease, people being tested for possible thyroid cancer, loved ones, and anyone interested in learning about thyroid cancer to attend, meet one another, share stories and learn from the impressive lineup of health care experts in attendance.” 

Among the presenters, experts in the area of thyroid cancer are coming from the following leading medical centers: 

• Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia
• Clayman Thyroid Cancer Center
• Dana Farber Cancer Institute
• Duke University Medical Center
• Hospital Pablo Toblon Uribe and Clinica Las Americas, Colombia
• Jacobi Medical Center
• Johns Hopkins Medicine
• Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center
• Mayo Clinic
• Medstar Georgetown University Hospital
• MedStar Washington Hospital Center
• Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center
• Moffitt Cancer Center
• National Institutes of Health
• North Shore University Hospital
• The Ohio State University College of Medicine
• University of Pittsburgh Medical Center
• University of Texas, M.D. Anderson Cancer Center 

The conference is for anyone interested in any type of thyroid cancer. Attendees, including walk-ins, are welcome to come for 1, 2 or all 3 days. The cost is $50, and scholarships are available upon request to cover the registration fee. 

For more details about the Thyroid Cancer Survivors’ Conference and the free year-round support services and education offered by ThyCa, visit the ThyCa website, email ThyCa at conference@thyca.org or thyca@thyca.org, or call ThyCa at (877) 588-7904. 

About ThyCa

ThyCa: Thyroid Cancer Survivors’ Association, Inc. is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization of thyroid cancer survivors, family members, and health care professionals. The organization is dedicated to support, education, and communication for thyroid cancer survivors, their families and friends. ThyCa also sponsors Thyroid Cancer Awareness Month, year-round awareness activities, and thyroid cancer research fundraising and research grants. For more information, visit our website or follow us on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/ThyCaInc/ or Twitter (@ThyCaInc).

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Chicago, Illinois— Eight physician specialists headline the free Thyroid Cancer Patient Education Day on Saturday, September 9, 2017, from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. at the Sheraton Grand Chicago, Second Floor: Michigan A Conference Room, 301 East North Water Street, Chicago, Illinois. 

This educational event is hosted by the American Academy of Otolaryngology—Head and Neck Surgery Foundation, in conjunction with its annual meeting. ThyCa: Thyroid Cancer Survivors’ Association, Inc. (www.thyca.org) is collaborating in this event. 

• Nishant Agrawal, M.D., University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 
• Peter Angelos, M.D., University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois
• Ronald Cohen, M.D., University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 
• Ray Grogan, M.D., University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 
• Miriam Lango, M.D., Fox Chase Cancer Center, Temple University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 
• Joseph Scharpf, M.D., Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, Ohio 
• Ralph P. Tufano, M.D., M.B.A., FACS, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland 
• Mark Zafereo, M.D., M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas 

Get answers to these important questions.

• What are the different types of thyroid cancer?
• Is there an epidemic of thyroid cancer?
• I have side effects from thyroid cancer treatment: What can be done?
• I have thyroid cancer. Should my family get screened?
• How much surgery is needed for thyroid cancer?
• What should be done with the lymph nodes? Surgery?
• Where should I get my thyroid cancer treatment, and why?
• What is my risk of my thyroid cancer coming back?
• Why are some thyroid cancers considered not invasive?
• What does the thyroglobulin blood test mean?
• How often do I need testing after treatment and why?
• Do I need radioiodine treatment and why?
• My thyroid cancer has come back: now what? 

Program Schedule and Parking Options
Register online (free)

Walk-in attendees are also welcome. 

For thyroid cancer information and free materials from ThyCa: Thyroid Cancer Survivors’ Association, Inc., e-mail to thyca@thyca.org; write to PO Box 1102, Olney, MD 20830-1102; call toll-free 1-877-588-7904; or visit our website.

ThyCa: Thyroid Cancer Survivors’ Association, Inc., is pleased to introduce our newest, free handbook.

This handbook is titled Thyroid Nodules: Testing and Follow-Up. It’s 36 pages and has been written and edited by physicians, patients, and caregivers to inform and help patients and caregivers.

Its 19 sections explain the following topics: Basic Facts, If You Have a Nodule, Types of Thyroid Nodules,Outcomes After Finding a Thyroid Nodule, Thyroid Nodule Evaluation and Possible Results, Fine Needle Aspiration (FNA): What to Expect, Molecular Testing for Thyroid Cancer, and more topics.

The handbook is now available on ThyCa’s website as a downloadable.

Read and download it here.

The print edition will be available soon. Watch for an announcement. It will be available in single copies, as well as in bulk to health care professionals to give to their patients.

ThyCa will also will post this handbook as an ePub, available on iTunes and GooglePlay.

Also, here is a flyer to download and share, to help spread the word about this important new resource.

June 8, 2017—ThyCa: Thyroid Cancer Survivors’ Association, Inc. is proud to announce three new research grants for thyroid cancer research into complex aspects of all types of thyroid cancer: papillary, follicular, medullary, and anaplastic thyroid cancer. ThyCa has also awarded four continuation grants. 

The new ThyCa grants were awarded to researchers at Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts; Dana Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, Massachusetts; and University of Birmingham College of Medical and Dental Sciences, Birmingham, United Kingdom. In addition, ThyCa announced awards for continuation grants. 

This is the fifteenth consecutive year of ThyCa research grants. The grants are funded through donations to ThyCa from thyroid cancer patients, family members, and friends. ThyCa grants are open to researchers and institutions worldwide. An independent expert panel of the American Thyroid Association (ATA) reviewed applications and selected the recipients of these seven grants.  

The New ThyCa Grant Recipients and Projects: 

• Glenn J. Hanna, M.D. Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, for the project titled “Correlating the Circulating Immune Profile with Response to Dual Immune Checkpoint Inhibition in Advanced Thyroid Cancer.” This project is applicable to advanced medullary thyroid cancer as well as differentiated thyroid cancer and focuses on identifying predictors or response or resistance to immune checkpoint two immune checkpoint inhibitors. Immune checkpoint inhibitors have demonstrated clinical benefit in a wide range of solid tumors. The research will profile the tumor microenvironment in immunotherapy-treated patients using multiparametric flow cytometry with the aim of correlating these findings with a novel, circulating immune checkpoint profiling assay. This grant is this year’s Ric Blake Memorial Thyroid Cancer Research Grant, named for ThyCa Co-Founder Ric Blake.

• Jens Lohr, M.D., Ph.D., Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, Massachusetts for the project “Characterization of Treatment Response in Thyroid Cancer by cfDNA.” This project seeks to explore if “liquid biopsy: can be used as a tool to gain insight into the tumor biology of thyroid cancer, simply from a vial of blood, and ultimately translate these findings into new targeted therapies. The project aims to develop novel biomarkers that allow for early detection of resistance to the newer targeted therapies for thyroid cancer that is refractory to radioactive iodine. The research will determine the tumor fraction, copy number alterations and somatic mutations from tumor-derived cfDNA, and compare with the results from tissue biopsy.

• Vicki Emma Smith, Ph.D., University of Birmingham College of Medical and Dental Sciences, Birmingham, United Kingdom, for the project titled “A New Molecular Switch in Thyroid Cancer.” This research will focus on a modified (phosphorylated) version of the PBF protein, as high PBF levels have been linked with more aggressive thyroid tumors and resistance to radioactive iodine treatment. The research will investigate the hypothesis that PBF-Y174 is a central thyroid signaling event that is dysregulated in thyroid tumors, in order to improve understanding of thyroid tumors and consider PDF phosphorylation as a potential new drug target for the treatment of thyroid cancer. 

The continuation grants were awarded to these researchers: 

• Trevor Angell, M.D., Harvard Medical School, and Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, for the project titled “Assessment of Circulation Immune Suppressor Cells for Predicating Treatment Response in Follicular Cell Derived Thyroid Carcinoma.” 
• Viswanath Gunda, Ph.D., Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, for the project titled “Combining Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors with BRAF Targeted Therapy in Thyroid Cancer.” 
• Juan Nicola, Ph.D., National University of Cordoba, Cordoba, Argentina, is receiving a grant for his research on “Uncovering Na+/I- Symporter (NIS) interacting proteins: Implications for radioiodide therapy efficiency and diagnosis of radioiodide-avid thyroid tumors.” 
• Nikita Pozdeyev, M.D., Ph.D., University of Colorado, Aurora, Colorado, for the project titled “Rational combination therapies with lenvatinib for advanced thyroid cancer.” This grant is the 2016 Ric Blake Memorial Thyroid Cancer Research Grant.

“We’re proud to award these new grants, which support research in areas important for all thyroid cancer,” said Gary Bloom, ThyCa Executive Director, who is a thyroid cancer survivor. “Thyroid cancer research urgently needs more support, because this cancer is one of the few in which mortality has increased in recent years. We greatly appreciate our donors, whose generosity all throughout the year makes possible these research grants.”

ThyCa’s research fund funds welcome contributions of any size. Information about how to support ThyCa’s Rally for Research can be found on the ThyCa Rally for Research page.

About ThyCa: Thyroid Cancer Survivors’ Association, Inc. 

ThyCa: Thyroid Cancer Survivors’ Association, Inc. is a nonprofit organization of thyroid cancer survivors, caregivers, and health care professionals, dedicated to support, education, communication, awareness, and thyroid cancer research funding. 

This year ThyCa is marking its 22nd year of providing a wide array of free services and resources to thyroid cancer survivors, families, medical professionals, and the public. These include thyroid cancer support groups in seven countries; one-to-one support available worldwide; educational events including seminars, workshops, webinars, and the annual International Thyroid Cancer Survivors’ Conference; free publications including handbooks on all types of thyroid cancer, weekly online newsletter, downloadable low-iodine cookbook, a patient information packet, and thyroid cancer awareness materials; and pediatric backpacks with information kits for children and teens with thyroid cancer and their families. ThyCa’s educational web site has more than 850 pages in 9 languages: English, Chinese, French, Greek, Hebrew, Italian, Japanese, Russian, and Spanish. 

ThyCa receives guidance from its Medical Advisory Council of more than 50 world-recognized experts in the field of thyroid cancer. ThyCa sponsors Thyroid Cancer Awareness Month in September, a worldwide observance, plus year-round awareness campaigns, as well as, and the. Details are available on ThyCa’s website or by calling 1-877-588-7904 or e-mailing thyca@thyca.org. 

On May 23, 2017, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission held a public meeting on radioactive iodine and patient release. The meeting followed up on the 2016 NRC meeting on the same topic. It focused on two major issues: 

• Where patients should go after receiving RAI (Patient Release: home, hospital, or outpatient medical setting), and 
• What discussion and information patients need before they receive radioactive iodine. 

ThyCa: Thyroid Cancer Survivors’ Association, Inc. was represented at this important meeting, as well as the 2016 meeting. Many of our readers also planned to attend via the live webcast or telephone connection. However, technical difficulties prevented these from being available. 

Public Meeting Feedback form.

Submit comments by June 27, 2017.  Comments received after this date will be considered if it is practical to do so, but the NRC is able to assure consideration only for comments received on or before this date. 

You may submit comments by any of the following methods: 

• Federal Rulemaking Web Site:  Go to http://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2017-0094. 
• Address questions about NRC dockets to Carol Gallagher; telephone:  301-415-3463; e-mail: Carol.Gallagher@nrc.gov. 
• Mail comments to:  Cindy Bladey, Office of Administration, Mail Stop:  OWFN-12H08, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001. 

The 6 Questions Discussed at NRC’s Public Meeting on May 23, 2017 

These questions were published on April 11, 2017, in the Federal Register, “Patient Release Program.” (NRC-2017-0094) 

A. “Should NRC require an activity-based patient release threshold under which patients would be required to be maintained in a clinic-sponsored facility (e.g., a medical facility or facility under the licensee’s control) until the standard for release is met.” 

B. “Should the NRC amend the regulations to clarify the time frame for the current dose limit in 10 CFR 35.75(a) for releasing Individuals? 

C. “Should the NRC continue to apply the same dose criteria of 5 mSv (0.5 rem), to all members of the general public, including family members, young children, pregnant women, caregivers, hotel workers, and other members of the public when considering the release of patients?” 

D. “Should the NRC include a specific requirement for the release of a patient who is likely to expose young children or pregnant women to doses above the public dose limit?” 

E. “Should the NRC have a specific requirement for the licensee to have a patient isolation discussion with patients in sufficient time prior to the administration to provide the patient time to make isolation arrangements or the licensee to make plans to hold the patient, if the patient cannot be immediately released?”” 

F. “Should the NRC explicitly include the time frame for providing instructions in the regulations (e.g., the instructions should be given prior to the procedure)?” 

ThyCa Follow-Up 

ThyCa is following up on the NRC meeting. If a transcript or archived webinar become available, we will post the URL in ThyCa’s weekly Bulletin and on our website. If you have comments or questions for ThyCa, e-mail to thyca@thyca.org.

The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommends against ultrasound and neck palpation screening for thyroid cancer in adults without any signs or symptoms unless they are in a high-risk category. The Task Force report appears in the May 9 issue of JAMA, the Journal of the American Medical Association.

USPSTF said that this is a D recommendation, indicating that there is moderate or high certainty that screening has no net benefit or that the harms outweigh the benefits. 

ThyCa strongly disagrees with the recommendation against palpation, for two main reasons. 

Why ThyCa Disagrees

First, by the time there are signs and symptoms such as voice changes, breathing difficulties, or visible swelling in the neck, the thyroid cancer has progressed beyond the point where treatment can usually be successful.

For high-risk thyroid cancers like medullary, anaplastic, and aggressive variants of papillary and follicular thyroid cancer, detection needs to happen earlier, before there are signs and symptoms to allow for the best outcomes.

Also, after symptoms appear, it can take weeks or months to get the initial appointment for further checking, and the diagnostic process itself can also be lengthy. For high-risk thyroid cancers, both these factors can cause extensive delays before treatment. This time may be critical to the outcome for the patient.

Second, as noted in several sources, the death rate from thyroid cancer has steadily increased in recent years, contrary to the USPSTF statement that the mortality rate has not changed substantially. This contrasts with most cancers, for which mortality has steadily declined. 

The mortality increase was noted in some of the JAMA editorials that accompanied the USPSTF statement.

Thus, Anne R. Cappola, M.D., Sc.M., of the University of Pennsylvania, wrote, “Recent data from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results 9 cancer registry program focused on cancer stage at diagnosis and its relationship to mortality, and found an increase in thyroid cancer incidence–based mortality of approximately 1.1% per year. Both the incidence of advanced-stage papillary thyroid carcinoma and mortality among these individuals increased over time. These data would not be explained simply by overdiagnosis.” 

Julie Ann Sosa, M.D., M.A., of Duke University, added to this point in her editorial in JAMA Surgery, also on May 9, 2017. She wrote, “… the overall incidence of thyroid cancer has increased by 3% annually over the last 3 decades, with increases observed in both the incidence and mortality rates for advanced-stage papillary thyroid cancer (3.5% per year since 1981).”

“Overall incidence-based mortality for thyroid cancer from 1994 to 2013 substantially increased (1.1% per year), and it increased even faster for patients diagnosed with advanced-stage papillary thyroid cancer (2.9% per year). These findings are consistent with a true increase in the occurrence of thyroid cancer in the United States, expanding on the data reported by Chen et al in 2009 and challenging the prevailing hypothesis that overdiagnosis is the sole culprit for the changing epidemiology.”

More Reasons for Neck Palpation

Dr. Sosa, who is a ThyCa Medical Advisor, also pointed out that neck checks by palpation are important for finding other conditions in addition to thyroid nodules.

Dr. Sosa wrote, “… the recommendation against neck palpation as a screening tool for thyroid cancer could be overinterpreted by some clinicians as the USPSTF providing license to exclude examination of the neck as an essential component of routine clinical care and fastidious physical examination.”

“Palpation of the thyroid gland itself, along with the central and lateral compartments of the anterior neck, can provide important information about thyroid nodules, goiter, lymphadenopathy, bruits, thrills, and other findings that could have critical bearing on a litany of benign and malignant conditions that extend far beyond the thyroid.”

“Therefore, it would seem to be important to assert somewhere in the USPSTF statement that neck palpation should remain a necessary pillar of a good physical examination. In this vein, there is evidence that a good thyroid examination can be fairly easily taught and that it correlates rather well with ultrasonography for estimation of thyroid gland size.”

For all these reasons, ThyCa continues to urge people to ask for neck checks at their regular medical appointments. A neck check by palpation is different from screening by ultrasound. ThyCa agrees that neck ultrasounds should not be routine. A neck check needs only the fingers of a trained medical professional, not any special equipment, and is quick and easy to do. 

For Further Reading

ThyCa’s website will add more information. Here are some sources for further reading. 

• Final Recommendation Statement: Thyroid Cancer: Screening – US Preventive Services Task Force. May 9, 2017.
• How to Look for Thyroid Cancer. Anne R. Cappola, M.D., Sc.M.
• Striving for Clarity About the Best Approach to Thyroid Cancer Screening and Treatment Is the Pendulum Swinging Too Far? Julie Ann Sosa, M.D., M.A., May 9, 2017.
• Thyroid Screening: ThyCa’s Comments on the USPSTF Draft Recommendations, January 2017

March 23, 2017— Everyone is welcome at the 20^th International Thyroid Cancer Survivor’s Conference, being held on October 6-8, 2017, near Baltimore, Maryland. 

The conference is sponsored by ThyCa: Thyroid Cancer Survivors’ Association, Inc. 

Join us for more than 100 session choices. Speakers include experts on papillary, follicular, medullary, and anaplastic thyroid cancers to include treatment, testing, follow-up, clinical trials, research, quality of life, and more. 

Sessions will cover all situations, from testing of nodules and decisions and steps when newly diagnosed, through to short-term and long-term follow-up and monitoring for people at all ages from children and teens to seniors.

The conference will be held at the Doubletree by Hilton Baltimore — BWI Airport Hotel in Linthicum Heights, MD. It’s conveniently located near BWI Airport (free 24-hour shuttle), Amtrak and Baltimore Light Rail (free 24-Hour shuttle), and I-95 (free hotel parking). We’ve arranged a special room rate. Our web site will add room reservation details. 

Conference registration will open soon. Scholarships to cover the registration fee are available on request. 

Visit our conference page often for more details and updates.