Israeli Researchers Decode Resistance of Thyroid Cancer Treatment

November 13, 2017 | Researchers at Haifa’s Rambam Medical Center and the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology have decoded a mechanism that leads to why some patients of thyroid cancer appear to be unaffected by iodine treatment. Iodine is a standard treatment for the disease, but is causing a resistance of thyroid tumors. According to a report in the Jerusalem Post, some patients are developing a distant metastases or local recurrence that is resistant to iodine therapy, causing low survival rates. Iodine treatment is based on partial or full removal of the gland in the front part of the neck, through surgery, with a supplement of radioactive iodine if necessary. Thyroid cells transfer iodine through specific channels that allow the radioactive iodine to enter the cancer cells in the body and destroy them without harming other tissues.The research was published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. This research was published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute (JNCI) and offers hope for more successful treatments in the future.