Active clinical trials for "Thyroid Neoplasms"

The cyclotron production model of Tc-99m pertechnetate (CPERT) has received significant validation in the independent expert review conducted by Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) in the follow up to the Chalk River crisis. The University of Alberta's Edmonton PET Centre and the Edmonton Radiopharmaceutical Centre is a cyclotron / radiopharmacy unit, providing a safe, cost effective, unsubsidized, and reliable supply of radiopharmaceuticals to hospitals and clinics in Edmonton and northern Alberta. A Phase I study is proposed to show safety of CPERT as well as comparability with generator-produced Tc-99m pertechnetate (GPERT) in subjects with well differentiated thyroid carcinoma post-thyroidectomy and prior to planned I-131 Iodide treatment.

The purpose of this study is to determine whether the use of honey mouthwashes in the prevention of salivary side effects of 131I (radioiodine) therapy.

The purpose of this study is to evaluate whether taking thyroid hormone medication with beverages other than water, decreases absorption of the medication by the intestine. Specifically we are interested in whether coffee, coffee with milk, or black tea affects how thyroid medication is absorbed by the body. Previous studies have suggested that taking thyroid hormone with coffee may interfere with the ability to absorb thyroid medicine. Given that many patients take their thyroid medicine with beverages other than water, and specifically with coffee or tea, understanding whether and how much coffee or tea may decrease thyroid hormone absorption is important for clinical practice. This study will help determine the safest and most effective way for adults to take their thyroid medication and will guide medical practitioners in how to counsel their patients when they prescribe thyroid hormone.

This is a multicenter, double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized study of fosbretabulin given with chemotherapy (paclitaxel and carboplatin) compared to placebo given with chemotherapy (paclitaxel and carboplatin) in subjects with anaplastic thyroid cancer (ATC). The primary objective of the study is to determine overall survival. A maximum of 300 subjects will be recruited from approximately 75 multinational sites of which approximately 35 will be located in the United States.

Radioiodine (I-131) therapy is of proven efficacy for treatment of differentiated thyroid carcinoma (DTC). However, loss of differentiation in recurrent or metastatic DTC which decrease I-131 uptake may decrease the efficacy of I-131 therapy. Therefore, strategies to improve I-131 uptake are mandatory. This study is an open label clinical study to evaluate the effectiveness of alpha-lipoic acid (ALA) for improving I-131 uptake in recurrent or metastatic of DTC with defective I-131 uptake.

Almost 50 % of papillary thyroid cancer (PTC) patients have central lymph node metastases (CLNM), which are associated with a high risk of persistent or recurrent disease. However, the practice of performing a prophylactic central lymph node dissection (PCLND) routinely remains controversial. The proponents argue that without a PCLND, PTC patients with positive lymph nodes have an increased risk of local recurrence, and postponed node dissection leads to with 5-6 fold higher risk of morbidity. If performed, PCLND in clinical node negative patients increases staging to pN1 in more than 50% of the cases without increasing survival. The complication rate in PCLND is lower when compared to a technically challenging re-exploration in recurrent disease, with reported incidences of 0.6% and 7.3-20%, respectively. Opponents of routine PCLND point out the lack of randomized clinical trials and object to treatment-induced hypo-parathyroidism and recurrent nerve damage for the N0 patients. Currently, no diagnostic tool is available which reliably identifies these patient categories. Therefore, there is a clear need for novel diagnostic imaging modalities that overcome this issue. Molecular Fluorescence Guided Surgery (MFGS) is potentially such a diagnostic tool. The administration of NIR fluorescent tracers can increase detection accuracy of cancer and nodal metastatic tissue using macroscopic MFGS. Therefore, we aimed to identify a GMP-produced near infrared (NIR) tracer that potentially has a high target-to-background ratio in PTC compared to normal thyroid tissue. Tyrosine-protein kinase Met (c-Met) is significantly upregulated at the protein level in PTC compared to normal thyroid tissue. The investigators therefore hypothesize that the GMP-produced NIR-fluorescent tracer EMI-137 (targeting c-Met, peak emission at 675 nm range) might be useful for intraoperative imaging of PTC and nodal metastases. The investigators' aim is to investigate if the administration of EMI-137 is a feasible approach to detect PTC nodal metastases. Ultimately, this method might be useful to improve patient selection for CLND. Eventually, we might also be able to visualize multifocality, more selective lateral neck dissections and asses residual tissue after thyroidectomy. Ultimately, all of these strategies may reduce overtreatment, morbidity, and costs while maintaining the same or better effectiveness with a lower recurrence rate and improved quality of life.

The purpose of the present study was to compare the effect of dexmedetomidine which is administered during emergence in adult patients undergoing elective thyroidectomy on smooth emergence form general anesthesia (reducing agitation or coughing, signs of hypertension or tachycardia, or etc.) and postoperative outcome (postoperative bleeding and hospital staying).

The purpose of this research study is to see if a specific kind of MRI can identify small and otherwise undetected abnormal lymph nodes in patients with thyroid cancer who are undergoing surgery. The MRI is called Ultra-Small Superparamagnetic Iron Oxide Magnetic Resonance Imaging (USPIO MRI), and uses an experimental contrast agent (ferumoxytol), to try to identify these lymph nodes. The MRI uses magnetic waves to take images (pictures) of the body and is commonly used in medical testing. Ferumoxytol is FDA approved as an iron replacement product for the treatment of iron deficiency anemia in adult patients with chronic kidney disease. In this research study, the investigators want to see if Ferumoxytol will help to identify very small metastases that are not usually seen on standard MRI scans. If the use of USPIO MRI with the experimental agent ferumoxytol identifies very small metastases in lymph nodes, your surgeon may decide to remove them. After the surgery, the nodes will be stored and then analyzed to assess the ability of USPIO MRI and ferumoxytol to detect cancer in very small metastases in the lymph nodes.

Localized thyroid cancer is potentially curable. Before thyroid surgery, an ultrasound test is done to see if cancer has spread to the lymph nodes in the neck. Excellent for evaluation of the thyroid gland, this test has limitations in evaluating larger anatomic areas, like all groups of lymph nodes in the neck. It has a limited area of coverage making it difficult to define an area of interest, depends on the skill level of the person performing it, and is difficult to exactly reproduce on follow-up. For these reasons, CT is often performed in these patients but without intravenous (IV) contrast since iodine-based contrast agents may saturate the thyroid, limiting the usefulness of other iodine-based diagnostic and treatment options. However, contrast-CT can give more detailed information about tumor spread including spread to lymph nodes. We aim to determine if use of IV contrast agent during CT leads to earlier and more accurate detection of lymph node disease from thyroid cancer.

As robotic surgery has been applied to various surgeries, the minimally invasive surgery is rapidly evolving. In particular, robot-assisted thyroidectomy is one of the leading techniques in minimally invasive surgery fields. Robot-assisted transaxillary thyroidectomy dramatically improves the cosmetic satisfaction, showing no difference in cancer control and safety comparing with conventional open thyroidectomy. However, some studies have shown that many patients complained of chest pain after robot-assisted thyroidectomy, and about 20% of patients suffered chronic pain even after three months of surgery. This might be due to the flap formation during robot-assisted thyroidectomy. Robot-assisted transaxillary thyroidectomy does not provide visibility by injecting CO2. But it provides visibility using Chung's retractor system to make a flap between the pectoralis major muscle and subcutaneous fat layer. The flap is formed from the incision of axilla to the anterior neck to approach the thyroid gland. In this progress, it requires considerable force to maintain the Chung's retractor system, and additional pressure may be applied to the subcutaneous fat and skin constituting the skin flap. The pressure applied to the skin flap may be associated with postoperative pain and sensory abnormality, but it has not been studied yet. Deep neuromuscular blockade The neuromuscular block for muscle relaxation during surgery is essential for general anesthesia. In general, a neuromuscular block agent is used to induce intubation during induction of anesthesia. Continuous or single injection of neuromuscular block agent is then carried out as needed during the operation. The effect of deep neuromuscular blockade on laparoscopic surgery using carbon dioxide has already been studied. Deep neuromuscular blockade on laparoscopic surgery reduced postoperative pain and improved the surgical condition compared to conventional moderate neuromuscular blockade. However, the effect of neuromuscular blockade on robot-assisted thyroid surgery has not been studied yet. There was concern about delayed recovery of muscle relaxation and respiratory failure due to deep neuromuscular blockade. However, the development of sugammadex (Bridion, Merck Sharp and Dohme - MSD, Oss, Netherlands) eliminated these concerns. Sugammadex dramatically reduced the recovery time from deep neuromuscular blockade.