Staging in thyroid carcinoma

In this issue of Cancer a new staging system for thyroid carcinoma is proposed that resembles the TNM System currently in use. Although developing yet another staging system for thyroid carcinoma to compensate for previous deficiencies may be potentially helpful, the real need is to convince surgeons and endocrinologists to modify and adjust therapeutic aggressiveness to the risk of the tumor rather than treat every patient in exactly the same fashion. Because multiple previous staging systems have not altered current therapy guidelines, doubt is raised that this new system will be any more successful in this important attempt to individualize therapy. See also pages 848-50 and 1012-21.