Surgery in the context of kinase inhibitor therapy for locally invasive thyroid cancer

Kinase inhibitors (KI) for advanced and aggressive forms of differentiated, medullary and anaplastic thyroid carcinoma have been shown to provide significant tumor response, locally and in distant metastases. Their use, however, may also increase the risk for local complications such as fistula formation and bleeding, and head and neck surgeons may be solicited to palliatively remove potentially dangerous lesions before initiating these systemic treatments. During KI therapy for progressive metastatic and/or locally invasive disease, surgery may be urgently necessary to secure the airway or for symptomatic neck lesions. Finally, there are more and more reports of surgery following KI therapy that suggest a new neoadjuvant paradigm for extensive lesions. In this review, we aim to discuss the literature regarding surgery before, during and after KI therapy in the context of progressive metastatic and/or locally invasive thyroid cancer.