Screening for medullary thyroid cancer in France: a national effort. French Medullary Study Group (GETC)

Screening for medullary thyroid cancer (MTC) in France is based on a protocol that has been widely distributed nationally. A network of coordinators utilizing a common questionnaire provides for an effective national screening program. Calcitonin stimulation procedures are systematically used for al...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published inHenry Ford Hospital medical journal Vol. 37; no. 3-4; p. 120
Main Authors Calmettes, C, Chaventre, A, Feingold, N, Franc, B, Guliana, J M
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published United States 1989
Subjects
France - epidemiology
Genetic Testing
Humans
Multiple Endocrine Neoplasia - epidemiology
Multiple Endocrine Neoplasia - genetics
Registries
Thyroid Neoplasms - epidemiology
Thyroid Neoplasms - genetics
France
Online AccessGet more information

Cover

More Information
Summary:Screening for medullary thyroid cancer (MTC) in France is based on a protocol that has been widely distributed nationally. A network of coordinators utilizing a common questionnaire provides for an effective national screening program. Calcitonin stimulation procedures are systematically used for all first-degree relatives of MTC patients. Pathological studies utilize special immunopathologic techniques. Genealogic information is obtained on all index cases, and blood specimens are collected for establishing permanent cell lines. The data collected are used not only to establish the diagnosis of the hereditary or sporadic form of the disease but also to expand the screening as appropriate. This common protocol has benefited patients and their families by improving early detection of cases, increasing the number of families available for follow-up, and improving the prognosis of this cancer. Studies on these families have contributed significantly to the localization of the multiple endocrine neoplasia type 2 gene.
ISSN:0018-0416