Abstract
Thyroid follicular epithelial cell-derived cancer includes papillary, follicular, and anaplastic thyroid carcinomas. Although thyroid cancer incidence has increased over the past thirty years, there has not been a significant increase in patient mortality. Utilization of increasingly sensitive detection methods such as high resolution imaging have enabled earlier detection and better characterization of the thyroid malignancies. In the past several years, researchers have evaluated genetic mutations promoting thyroid carcinogenesis and oncogenesis. The identification of genetic mutations is not only important in understanding tumor initiation and progression but also serve as potential diagnostic or prognostic indicators and therapeutic molecular targets.
