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Noninvasive Follicular Thyroid Neoplasm with Papillary-Like Nuclear Features (NIFTP): An Update

  • Proceeding of the North American Society of Head and Neck Pathology Companion Meeting, March 1, 2020, Los Angeles, California
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Abstract

Based on evidence accumulated over the past three decades showing that noninvasive encapsulated follicular variant of papillary thyroid carcinoma has an indolent clinical behavior and a RAS-like molecular profile similar to follicular adenoma, the Endocrine Pathology Society working group in 2016 proposed to rename this entity as “noninvasive follicular thyroid neoplasm with papillary-like nuclear features (NIFTP)” in order to eliminate the term “carcinoma” from the diagnosis. It is a major evidence-based attempt initiated by an international group of endocrine pathologists to tackle the epidemic of thyroid cancer overdiagnosis and overtreatment. However, its creation and continuous existence are not without controversies. NIFTP has sparked a wave of follow up studies aiming to decipher the exact nature of this new entity. In this review, we summarize the rationale, diagnostic criteria, controversies and subsequent changes to the NIFTP concept, and their impact on patient care and pathology practice.

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Acknowledgements

Research reported in this publication was supported in part by the Cancer Center Support Grant of the National Institutes of Health/National Cancer Institute under award number P30CA008748. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.

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  1. Department of Pathology, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, 1275 York Avenue, New York, NY, 10021, USA

    Bin Xu & Ronald A. Ghossein

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  1. Bin Xu
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Xu, B., Ghossein, R.A. Noninvasive Follicular Thyroid Neoplasm with Papillary-Like Nuclear Features (NIFTP): An Update. Head and Neck Pathol 14, 303–310 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12105-019-01124-z

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