Over the last few years, a great advance has been made in the comprehension of the molecular pathogenesis underlying thyroid cancer progression, particularly for the papillary thyroid cancer (PTC), which represents the most common thyroid malignancy. Putative cancer driver mutations have been identified in more than 98% of PTC, and a new PTC classification into molecular subtypes has been proposed in order to resolve clinical uncertainties still present in the clinical management of patients. Additionally, the prognostic stratification systems have been profoundly modified over the last decade, with a view to refine patients’ staging and being able to choose a clinical approach tailored on single patient’s needs. Here, we will briefly discuss the recent changes in the clinical management of thyroid nodules, and review the current staging systems of thyroid cancer patients by analyzing promising clinicopathological features (i.e., gender, thyroid auto-immunity, multifocality, PTC histological variants, and vascular invasion) as well as new molecular markers (i.e., BRAF/TERT promoter mutations, miRNAs, and components of the plasminogen activating system) potentially capable of ameliorating the prognosis of PTC patients.

Epidemiological studies aimed at defining the association of thyroid diseases with extra-thyroidal malignancies (EM) have aroused considerable interest in the possibility of revealing common genetic and environmental factors underlying disease etiology and progression. Over the years, multiple lines of evidence indicated a significant relationship between thyroid carcinomas and other primary EM, especially breast cancer. For the latter, a prominent association was also found with benign thyroid diseases. In particular, a meta-analysis revealed an increased risk of breast cancer in patients with autoimmune thyroiditis, and our recent work demonstrated that the odds ratio (OR) for breast cancer was raised in both thyroid autoantibody-positive and -negative patients. However, the OR was significantly lower for thyroid autoantibody-positive patients compared to the negative ones. This is in agreement with findings showing that the development of thyroid autoimmunity in cancer patients receiving immunotherapy is associated with better outcome and supports clinical evidence that breast cancer patients with thyroid autoimmunity have longer disease-free interval and overall survival. These results seem to suggest that factors other than oncologic treatments may play a role in the initiation and progression of a second primary malignancy. The molecular links between thyroid autoimmunity and breast cancer remain, however, unidentified, and different hypotheses have been proposed. Here, we will review the epidemiological, clinical, and experimental data relating thyroid diseases and breast cancer, as well as the possible hormonal and molecular mechanisms underlying such associations.

There is a deep interrelation between the thyroid gland and the kidney parenchyma, with dysfunction of the first leading to significant changes in renal metabolism and vice versa. Given the recognition of cancer as a systemic disease, the raise of thyroid tumors and the common association of several malignancies, such as breast cancer, prostate cancer, colorectal cancer, and other, with an increased risk of kidney disease, public health alert for these conditions is warranted. A systematic review of the current evidence on the bidirectional relationship between thyroid and renal cancers was conducted including 18 studies, highlighting patient’s characteristics, histology, time for secondary malignancy to develop from the first diagnosis, treatment, and follow-up. A total of 776 patients were identified; median age was 64 years (range: 7–76 years). Obesity and family history were identified as the most common risk factors, and genetic susceptibility was suggested with a potential strong association with Cowden syndrome. Controversy on chemo and radiotherapy effects was found, as not all patients were previously exposed to these treatments. Men were more likely to develop kidney cancer after a primary thyroid malignancy, with 423/776 (54%) experiencing renal disease secondarily. Median time after the first malignancy was 5.2 years (range: 0–20 years). With the advancement of current oncological therapy, the prognosis for thyroid cancer patients has improved, although there has been a corresponding rise in the incidence of multiple secondary malignancy within the same population, particularly concerning the kidney. Surgery can achieve disease-free survival, if surveillance follow-up allows for an early localized form, where radical treatment is recommended.

Background In the last decade, two research groups, the French group by Clough et al. (Br J Surg. 97:1659–65, 2010) and the Chinese one by Li et al. (ISRN Oncol 2013:279013, 2013), proposed two types of classification of axillary lymph nodes in breast cancer, identifying novel anatomic landmarks for dividing the axillary space in lymph node dissection. Main body Knowledge of the exact location of the sentinel node helps to focus the surgical dissection and to reduce the morbidity of sentinel lymph node biopsy procedures, in particular the risk of arm lymphedema, without compromising sensitivity. Conclusion In this article, we aimed at focusing on the clinical impact that the most recent classifications of axillary lymph nodes have obtained in literature, highlighting the importance of defining new demarcations to preserve the axillary lymph nodes as much as possible in breast surgery.

Prostate cancer (PCa) is becoming an increasingly important public health problem worldwide, and anthropometric studies have revealed that body composition is a potential risk factor for this type of cancer. The objective of the present study was to compare Italians with PCa and no history of androgen deprivation therapy or bone metastases with healthy controls in terms of body composition. We recruited 11 PCa patients [mean age (+/-SD), 68.67+/-4.93 years; body mass index (BMI), 28.42+/-2.96 kg/m(2)] and 11 healthy controls matched for age and BMI. Anthropometric and body composition parameters were measured for all participants using dual X-ray absorptiometry and bioelectric impedance analysis techniques. We found that lean body mass, but not fat mass, was significantly lower for PCa patients in comparison with healthy controls (50.24+/-5.03 vs. 53.63+/-5.61 kg, p<0.05). Thus, PCa patients with no history of androgen deprivation therapy and no bone metastasis suffer muscle mass depletion.