Diagnosis and management of thyroid cancer in adult patients. Recommendations of Polish Scientific Societies and the National Oncology Strategy, 2026 update

The current update of the “Recommendations for the Management of Thyroid Cancer in Adult Patients” is based on a critical appraisalof whether the recommendations published in 2022 by the Polish Scientific Societies and the National Oncology Strategy remain valid,and which statements require modification or updating in light of the American Thyroid Association (ATA) Guidelines published in 2025. We have also taken into account the most recent National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) recommendations, as well as guidelines from other international and European scientific societies addressing thyroid cancer, adapting them to the specific epidemiologicaland legal conditions in Poland. We decided that the current Recommendations would not include management of medullary thyroid cancer, as, in our opinion, the Polish Guidelines published in 2022 and 2024 remain up to date. The Recommendations are divided into two sections: “General Principles” and “Clinical Management”. The “General Principles” sectionoutlines the key principles of thyroid cancer management, whereas the “Clinical Management” section specifies these principlesaccording to the risk of recurrence, incorporating the well-established and highly accurate ATA 2025 risk stratification system. Thus,the reader will find specific management recommendations depending on whether the patient has low-risk or high-risk thyroid cancer. The “Clinical Management” section includes a dedicated subsection outlining the recommended clinical approach to thyroid noduleswith indeterminate cytology. In these Recommendations, the management of anaplastic thyroid carcinoma and thyroid lymphomas is addressed in a separate subsection. In addition, brief information on other rare histological subtypes of thyroid cancer is also provided.