The Year in Basic Thyroid Cancer Research

Background: Every year, the American Thyroid Association (ATA) Annual Meeting opening session features presentations covering the most recent advances in the three major areas of thyroidology: basic, clinical, and surgical. As the ATA did not have an annual meeting in 2020, because of the COVID19 pandemic, the 2021 meeting opened with a special "Two Years in Thyroidology" session. Methods: A PubMed electronic search was conducted to identify original basic science research studies on thyroid cancer published between October 2019 and September 2021. Methodologically rigorous studies that were deemed most likely to influence the field of basic science research in thyroid cancer were grouped into three thematic units: Genetics and Genomics, Molecular Biology and Signaling, and Preclinical and Translational Science. Four publications for each category were chosen for discussion. Results: Selected studies covered topics ranging from the genetics of thyroid cancer predisposition to the genomics of anaplastic thyroid cancer evolution, from novel molecular pathways involved in thyroid cancer pathogenesis to potentially game-changing imaging and therapeutic innovations. Conclusions: The past two years, in the face of unique COVID19 pandemic-associated hurdles, have witnessed a large number of important developments in basic and translational thyroid cancer research. These studies not only have shed novel light on a number of long-standing scientific questions but have also highlighted the major challenges and open questions that still remain to be addressed in the coming years.