September is Thyroid Cancer Awareness Month. The American Cancer Society estimates there will be over 45,000 new cases of thyroid cancer in 2026, with over 2,300 patients dying of the disease. Thyroid cancer is three times more common in women than men, and is diagnosed at the average age of 51.
In recognition of Thyroid Cancer Awareness Month, the Cancer Center at Illinois (CCIL) is emphasizing the thyroid cancer research by CCIL member Chitra Submaranian, who spoke with the CCIL about the origin, focus, progress, challenges, and future directions of her own thyroid cancer research.
How did you get involved in thyroid cancer research?
I began my career in thyroid cancer research about 10 years ago, when I had the opportunity to work closely with endocrine surgeons on endocrine malignancies. That collaboration introduced me to the unique challenges of thyroid cancer, particularly the need to better understand tumor biology and translate laboratory discoveries into more effective treatments for patients. Working alongside clinicians allowed me to see firsthand the unanswered questions they encounter in patient care and helped shape my approach to research. Over time, my work became increasingly focused on bridging basic cancer biology with clinically relevant questions in endocrine oncology, including thyroid cancer. This multidisciplinary environment ultimately led me to develop a strong interest in translational thyroid cancer research and in identifying new therapeutic strategies that have the potential to directly improve patient outcomes.ng strategy.
Chitra Subramanian is a Research Associate Professor in the Carle Illinois College of Medicine Department of Biomedical & Translational Sciences and a Cancer Center at Illinois member.
What is your specific area of research within thyroid cancer?
My research focuses on developing new therapeutic strategies for aggressive and treatment-resistant thyroid cancers, particularly those for which current treatment options are limited.
A major area of our work is identifying existing drugs that can be repurposed to target these difficult-to-treat cancers and evaluating their potential through rigorous preclinical studies. We also investigate novel HSP90 inhibitors, both as individual therapeutic agents and in combination with current standards of care, with the goal of overcoming treatment resistance and improving therapeutic response. An important aspect of this work is understanding the molecular mechanisms that drive resistance so that we can identify rational and potentially more effective treatment combinations. In parallel, we are working to identify non-invasive biomarkers that could help predict treatment response, monitor disease progression, and guide therapeutic decisions. Ultimately, our goal is to translate these laboratory discoveries into clinically relevant strategies that can improve outcomes for patients with aggressive thyroid cancer.
“Ultimately, our goal is to translate these laboratory discoveries into clinically relevant strategies that can improve outcomes for patients with aggressive thyroid cancer.”
CHITRA SUBMARANIAN
What are the unique challenges in thyroid cancer detection, diagnostics, and treatment?
Despite major advances in the diagnosis and treatment of thyroid cancer, several important challenges remain. Improved imaging has increased the detection of small, indolent thyroid cancers that may never become clinically significant, raising concerns about overdiagnosis and unnecessary treatment. At the same time, fine-needle aspiration biopsies can be inconclusive, particularly for uncommon or difficult-to-classify tumors, and accurate diagnosis of aggressive thyroid cancers may require specialized molecular testing. Treatment becomes particularly challenging when tumors are aggressive, recurrent, or resistant to radioactive iodine, leaving patients with fewer effective therapeutic options. Surgery remains a cornerstone of treatment but can be associated with complications, including injury to the recurrent laryngeal nerve and impaired parathyroid function. In addition, patients may experience long-term quality-of-life concerns related to lifelong thyroid hormone replacement and anxiety about disease recurrence. Together, these challenges highlight the need for more precise diagnostic tools, non-invasive biomarkers, and effective therapies for patients with aggressive and treatment-resistant thyroid cancers.
What progress have you observed in thyroid cancer?
Over the past decade, significant progress has been made in the treatment of thyroid cancer. While surgery and radioactive iodine remain highly effective for many patients, advances in molecular profiling have allowed us to identify specific genetic alterations that drive tumor growth and to develop therapies that target these abnormalities. Targeted therapies against RET, NTRK, BRAF, and other molecular pathways have provided important new options for patients with advanced, metastatic, or radioactive iodine-resistant disease. Despite these advances, major challenges remain.
Aggressive, recurrent, and treatment-resistant thyroid cancers can still be difficult to manage, and patients may eventually develop resistance to available therapies. This is where our research is particularly focused—identifying repurposed drugs and developing novel therapeutic strategies, including HSP90-targeted approaches, that could overcome treatment resistance and complement existing standards of care. We are also investigating non-invasive biomarkers that may help identify patients most likely to benefit from therapies and allow treatment response to be monitored more effectively. Ultimately, the field is moving toward a more personalized approach in which the molecular characteristics of each patient’s tumor can help guide treatment, while new therapeutic strategies address resistance and improve long-term outcomes.
What are the future directions for your thyroid cancer research?
To address the long-term quality-of-life challenges associated with thyroid removal, we are also exploring a regenerative medicine approach aimed at restoring thyroid function. Our research focuses on developing a patient-specific, functional thyroid tissue implant using stem cells. The goal is to engineer thyroid-like tissue capable of producing thyroid hormones and responding to normal physiological signals, with the long-term potential to restore natural thyroid function after thyroidectomy. Because the starting cells can be obtained from the patient’s own tissue, this approach could potentially reduce concerns related to immune rejection while providing a personalized source of regenerative cells.
If successfully developed and translated to clinical use, a functional thyroid implant could offer an alternative to lifelong thyroid hormone replacement for appropriately selected patients and improve long-term quality of life. This work represents an important intersection of regenerative medicine, tissue engineering, and endocrine surgery, with the broader goal of moving beyond simply replacing thyroid hormones with medication toward restoring the function of the thyroid gland itself.
Editor’s notes:
This story was written by Jonathan King, CCIL Communications Coordinator.