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National Thyroid Cancer Experts Meet at UPMC to Advance Patient Care

University of Pittsburgh and UPMC

4/30/2015

Nearly 200 physicians and researchers from across the country will gather in the Herberman Conference Center at UPMC Shadyside Saturday to discuss adapting the new American Thyroid Association (ATA) guidelines into clinical practice and to find new ways of working together to improve patient care.

The Seventh Annual Multidisciplinary Thyroid Cancer Symposium, which is sponsored by UPMC, the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute (UPCI), partner with UPMC CancerCenter and the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, will bring together leading experts in the field to cover a wide variety of topics, including best practices in managing patients with advanced thyroid cancer, the value in predictive molecular testing,  and the latest surgical approaches in the field.

“Our understanding of thyroid cancer has advanced significantly in recent years, and new treatment guidelines were necessary to incorporate the latest research,” said Robert Ferris, M.D., Ph.D., chief of the Division of Head and Neck Surgery at Pitt and one of the conferences co-chairs. “The predictive molecular testing, which was researched and developed at UPMC, will be part of the recommendations for evaluation of a thyroid nodule and will arise in a new consensus statement recently developed by the ATA.  We are looking forward to the discussion this meeting will generate.”

Approximately 63,000 cases of thyroid cancer will be diagnosed in 2015. Thyroid cancer commonly is diagnosed at a younger age than most other adult cancers, and the chance of being diagnosed has risen in recent years as a result of the increased use of thyroid ultrasound.

The event includes a continuing medical education credit component for physicians.

About UPMC

A world-renowned health care provider and insurer, Pittsburgh-based UPMC is inventing new models of accountable, cost-effective, patient-centered care. It provides more than $888 million a year in benefits to its communities, including more care to the region’s most vulnerable citizens than any other health care institution. The largest nongovernmental employer in Pennsylvania, UPMC integrates more than 60,000 employees, more than 20 hospitals, more than 500 doctors’ offices and outpatient sites, a more than 2.5-million-member health insurance division, and international and commercial operations. Affiliated with the University of Pittsburgh Schools of the Health Sciences, UPMC ranks No. 12 in the prestigious U.S. News & World Report annual Honor Roll of America’s Best Hospitals — and No. 1 in Pennsylvania. For more information, go to UPMC.com.

About UPCI

As the only NCI-designated comprehensive cancer center in western Pennsylvania, UPCI is a recognized leader in providing innovative cancer prevention, detection, diagnosis, and treatment; bio-medical research; compassionate patient care and support; and community-based outreach services. Investigators at UPCI, a partner with UPMC CancerCenter, are world-renowned for their work in clinical and basic cancer research.

About the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine

As one of the nation’s leading academic centers for biomedical research, the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine integrates advanced technology with basic science across a broad range of disciplines in a continuous quest to harness the power of new knowledge and improve the human condition. Driven mainly by the School of Medicine and its affiliates, Pitt has ranked among the top 10 recipients of funding from the National Institutes of Health since 1998. In rankings recently released by the National Science Foundation, Pitt ranked fifth among all American universities in total federal science and engineering research and development support.

Likewise, the School of Medicine is equally committed to advancing the quality and strength of its medical and graduate education programs, for which it is recognized as an innovative leader, and to training highly skilled, compassionate clinicians and creative scientists well-equipped to engage in world-class research. The School of Medicine is the academic partner of UPMC, which has collaborated with the University to raise the standard of medical excellence in Pittsburgh and to position health care as a driving force behind the region’s economy. For more information about the School of Medicine, see www.medschool.pitt.edu.