Biomedical Frontiers: Winter/Spring 1996, Vol.3, No.2
Clinical Applications
CPMC's New Thyroid Center

Drawing on more than 60 years of advances in clinical and basic research on thyroid disease, CPMC has formally established a center for research, education, and treatment of thyroid disorders. "The Thyroid Center will make it easier to coordinate clinical care across various disciplines," says Dr. Robert McConnell, co-director of the center and associate clinical professor of medicine. Staff for the center includes endocrinologists, surgeons, radiologists, pathologists, and ophthalmologists with a major interest in diseases of the thyroid.

The new center will also strengthen CPMC's thyroid research programs. "We now have one fairly strong lab doing research," says Dr. Paul LoGerfo, co-director of the center and professor of surgery. "We hope to broaden our support base eventually."

Drs. Paul LoGerfo (left) and Robert McConnell, co-directors of the Thyroid Center.

CPMC's leadership in the study of thyroid disorders dates back to the 1930s, when physicians here first began investigating thyroid disease. By the 1940s, an informal thyroid clinic had developed; that clinic has endured and is now formally structured as the Thyroid Center. Throughout the years, CPMC's thyroid clinic has contributed much to the understanding and treatment of thyroid disorders. Among CPMC's "firsts": the first use of radioactive iodine to treat thyroid disease; one of the first centers to use fine needle aspiration biopsy for diagnosis of thyroid disease; and, more recently, the development of a blood test for thyroglobulin, a marker for thyroid cancer. Today, research continues. Current projects include the use of naturally formed antibodies to treat thyroid disease and the use of PCR to detect thyroid cancer.

Although the majority of thyroid disorders are not life-threatening, they are widespread and costly. Thyroid disorders affect an estimated 12 million Americans; approximately 25 percent of all women will have a thyroid disorder during their lifetimes. Worldwide, dietary iodine deficiencies and the resulting thyroid disorders cause mental deficiencies and goiter. Iodine-deficient goiter alone affects approximately 1 billion people. "Worldwide, iodine deficiencies are a huge problem. And in the United States, though iodine deficiency is not a problem, we spend an absolutely incredible amount of money on the treatment of other thyroid disorders," says Dr. LoGerfo. "Basic and clinical science at the Thyroid Center will help change these statistics by finding better ways to prevent thyroid disease."