Clinical development of kinase inhibitors for the treatment of differentiated thyroid cancer.

The incidence of thyroid cancer is growing at a rapid rate, with the majority of cases being differentiated thyroid cancers. Although a significant number of patients with localized disease are cured, a paucity of effective therapies currently exists for patients with recurrent and/or metastatic disease. The translational bridging of critical biologic insights into the pathogenesis of thyroid cancer and the clinical development of specific kinase inhibitors that disrupt these oncogenic pathways has led to exciting progress in clinical thyroid cancer research. This review will present the scientific rationale and clinical trial data gathered to date with kinase inhibitors in differentiated thyroid cancers.