Peter Ahn, MD

This management guide of endocrine malignancies covers the risk factors, diagnosis, screening, and treatment of both thyroid and parathyroid cancers.

Endocrine malignancies, although relatively uncommon, are often difficult to diagnose and treat effectively. According to American Cancer Society (ACS) estimates, more than 39,000 new cases of endocrine neoplasms will be diagnosed in the United States in 2009, and approximately 2,470 deaths will result from these cancers. This chapter will focus on thyroid and parathyroid cancers. (A discussion of carcinoid tumors, insulinomas, gastrinomas, and other gastrointestinal neuroendocrine tumors, as well as adrenocortical cancer, can be found in chapter 11.)