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Background Patients with radioactive iodine (131I, RAI)-refractory locally advanced or metastatic differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC) have a poor prognosis due to the lack of effective treatment options. Methods This multicentre, randomized (1:1), double-blind, placebo-controlled, phase 3 study (DECISION; NCT00984282) investigated sorafenib (400 mg orally twice-daily) in patients with RAI-refractory locally advanced or metastatic DTC progressing within the past 14 months. The primary endpoint was progression-free survival (PFS) by central independent review. Patients receiving placebo could crossover to open-label sorafenib upon progression. Archival tumour tissue was examined for BRAF and RAS mutations. Serum thyroglobulin was measured at baseline and each visit. Findings A total of 417 patients were randomized to sorafenib (n=207) or placebo (n=210). Sorafenib treatment significantly improved PFS compared with placebo (hazard ratio, 0·59; 95% confidence interval, 0·45–0·76; P<0·0001; median 10·8 vs. 5·8 months, respectively). PFS improvement was seen in all pre-specified clinical and genetic biomarker subgroups irrespective of mutation status. There was no statistically significant difference in overall survival (hazard ratio, 0·80; 95% confidence interval, 0·54–1·19; P=0·14); median overall survival had not been reached and 150 (71%) patients receiving placebo crossed over to sorafenib upon progression. Response rates (all partial responses) were 12·2% (24/196; sorafenib) and 0·5% (1/201; placebo; p<0·0001). Median thyroglobulin levels increased in the placebo group, and decreased, then paralleled treatment responses in the sorafenib group. Most adverse events were grade 1 or 2. The most common treatment-emergent adverse events in the sorafenib arm were hand–foot skin reaction (76·3%), diarrhoea (68·6%), alopecia (67·1%), and rash/desquamation (50·2%). Interpretation Sorafenib significantly improved PFS compared with placebo in patients with progressive RAI-refractory DTC. Adverse events were consistent with the known sorafenib safety profile. These results suggest that sorafenib represents a new treatment option for patients with progressive RAI-refractory DTC.

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Pituitary adenomas are common in the general population, and understanding their molecular basis is of great interest. Combining chip-based technologies with genealogy data, we identified germline mutations in the aryl hydrocarbon receptor interacting protein (AIP) gene in individuals with pituitary adenoma predisposition (PAP). AIP acts in cytoplasmic retention of the latent form of the aryl hydrocarbon receptor and also has other functions. In a population-based series from Northern Finland, two AIP mutations account for 16% of all patients diagnosed with pituitary adenomas secreting growth hormone and for 40% of the subset of patients who were diagnosed when they were younger than 35 years of age. Typically, PAP patients do not display a strong family history of pituitary adenoma; thus, AIP is an example of a low-penetrance tumor susceptibility gene.