ETA-CRN Report 2009

Dear ETA and ETA-CRN Members,

In the annual report on ETA-CRN activity I would like to summarize its perspectives and aims of recent time. Here I would like to start with the aims. A particularly important goal is translation of molecular biology achievements to clinical practice of thyroid cancer and stimulation of European scientific activity in this field. In an obvious way, it is a substantial aim for ETA itself, nevertheless we interpret ETA-CRN as a platform for initiating and widening mutual contacts that would allow clinicians to understand molecular biology of cancer and its potential role in clinical applications and, on the other hand, biologists who would gain clinical context for interpretation of their ongoing research and future planning. For clinical trials in thyroid cancer, ETA-CRN serves as an interface between EORTC group which is being formed now (for details please go to www.eortc.be or contact M. Schlumberger), various research consortia in which our members participate, pharmaceutical companies as well as individual ETA and ETA-CRN members.

Each year ETA-CRN meetings start on Saturday morning, a day prior to ETA annual meeting, and end before the Welcome Party. They are focused in turn on clinical aspects and more biological ones. Last year a great success was the meeting devoted to the European comments on American Thyroid Association Medullary Thyroid Cancer Guidelines. Thank you so much for being with us last year in Lisbon, where ETA-CRN Meeting took place. For those of you who could not participate I would like to report in few words that the meeting focused on American Thyroid Association Medullary Thyroid Cancer Guidelines. We created an online discussion panel which was a platform of opinion exchange available to all ETA and ETA-CRN members wishing to express their view on the ATA MTC Guidelines. A group of invited experts was asked to consider particular American guidelines in context of the European experience and clinical practice and present the results during the meeting in form of a short presentation. These talks and comments will be presented to you in form of a paper published in ‘Hot Thyroidology’. Each one ended with a voting of particular questions closely related to this presentation. The individual presentation of results of the voting are being summarized by Ulla Feldt-Rasmussen. Here we would like to thank very much all experts who contributed with their knowledge and experience to the success of the meeting which caught attention of about 100 participants. The speakers were: T. Kloos, R. Elisei, C. Daumerie, B. Niederle, S. Leboulleux, M. Minuto, L. Bastholt, L. Duntas, L. Fugazzola, F. Raue, B. Jarzab, M. Luster, M. Alevizaki, H. Neumann, F. Pacini, F. Borson-Chazot. Full list of names of contributors includes also in alphabetical order: C. Alvarez, L. Bartalena, G. Brabant, M. Brauckhoff, J. de Castro, H. Dralle, M. Erdogan, O. Gimm, D. Gruson, G. Kahaly, P. Laurberg, T. Links, A. Machens, D. Maiter, C. Meier, P. Miccoli, J. Orgiazzi, R. Peeters, K. Poppe, U. Feldt-Rasmussen, M. Schlumberger, P. Niccoli-Sire, I. Smit, R. Vigneri, J. Wemeau, G. Williams, S. Zannini. Please note, that the open formula of ETA-CRN includes many experts in the field who are not ETA members. We are very happy that they agreed to cooperate in the field of thyroid cancer.

This year ETA-CRN Meeting is to be held in Paris on Saturday, September 11th, 2010 preceding the International Thyroid Cancer Congress and will be devoted to the post Chernobyl research. This fine initiative has been undertaken by J. Dumont and U. Feldt-Rasmussen. The reason of why choosing Chernobyl for the keynote of ETA-CRN Meeting is multidirectional. Firstly, it is important to analyze consequences of this event in long term perspective, secondly, to present the results of recent research using the next updated molecular biology methods which allow better analysis of these unique tumors in which majority was induced by an unified factor, internal radioiodine exposure. During the upcoming meeting in Paris the results of multi-center European Union project GENRISK-T will be presented. The ETA has a long history of leadership in Chernobyl thyroid research and many members participated in previous studies and in the present project. The results will be presented in a larger context: the physiopathology of thyroid carcinoma, but also the medical consequences of irradiation in humans. Therefore I would like to invite you to participate in this event.

See you in Paris!

Barbara Jarzab
Secretary of ETA-CRN

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ETA-CRN Report 2009