Endocrinology and Metabolism

Original Article

Thyroid
Study Protocol of Expanded Multicenter Prospective Cohort Study of Active Surveillance on Papillary Thyroid Microcarcinoma (MAeSTro-EXP): Jae Hoon Moon, Eun Kyung Lee, Wonjae Cha, Young Jun Chai, Sun Wook Cho, June Young Choi, Sung Yong Choi, A Jung Chu, Eun-Jae Chung, Yul Hwangbo, Woo-Jin Jeong, Yuh-Seog Jung, Kyungsik Kim, Min Joo Kim, Su-jin Kim, Woochul Kim, Yoo Hyung Kim, Chang Yoon Lee, Ji Ye Lee, Kyu Eun Lee, Young Ki Lee, Hunjong Lim, Do Joon Park, Sue K. Park, Chang Hwan Ryu, Junsun Ryu, Jungirl Seok, Young Shin Song, Ka Hee Yi, Hyeong Won Yu, Eleanor White, Katerina Mastrocostas, Roderick J. Clifton-Bligh, Anthony Glover, Matti L. Gild, Ji-hoon Kim, Young Joo Park; Endocrinol Metab. 2025;40(2):236-246. Published online February 18, 2025; DOI: https://doi.org/10.3803/EnM.2024.2136

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Background
Active surveillance (AS) has emerged as a viable management strategy for low-risk papillary thyroid microcarcinoma (PTMC), following pioneering trials at Kuma Hospital and the Cancer Institute Hospital in Japan. Numerous prospective cohort studies have since validated AS as a management option for low-risk PTMC, leading to its inclusion in thyroid cancer guidelines across various countries. From 2016 to 2020, the Multicenter Prospective Cohort Study of Active Surveillance on Papillary Thyroid Microcarcinoma (MAeSTro) enrolled 1,177 patients, providing comprehensive data on PTMC progression, sonographic predictors of progression, quality of life, surgical outcomes, and cost-effectiveness when comparing AS to immediate surgery. The second phase of MAeSTro (MAeSTro-EXP) expands AS to low-risk papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) tumors larger than 1 cm, driven by the hypothesis that overall risk assessment outweighs absolute tumor size in surgical decision-making.
Methods
This protocol aims to address whether limiting AS to tumors smaller than 1 cm may result in unnecessary surgeries for low-risk PTCs detected during their rapid initial growth phase. By expanding the AS criteria to include tumors up to 1.5 cm, while simultaneously refining and standardizing the criteria for risk assessment and disease progression, we aim to minimize overtreatment and maintain rigorous monitoring to improve patient outcomes.
Conclusion
This study will contribute to optimizing AS guidelines and enhance our understanding of the natural course and appropriate management of low-risk PTCs. Additionally, MAeSTro-EXP involves a multinational collaboration between South Korea and Australia. This cross-country study aims to identify cultural and racial differences in the management of low-risk PTC, thereby enriching the global understanding of AS practices and their applicability across diverse populations.

Citations

Citations to this article as recorded by

Shared Decision-Making for Determining Treatment Strategies in Low-Risk Thyroid Cancer: Protocol of a Multicenter Cluster-Randomized Trial (MAeSTro-SDM)
Eun Kyung Lee, Min Joo Kim, Yul Hwangbo, Jae Hoon Moon, Sun Wook Cho, Young Jun Chai, June Young Choi, Yuh-Seog Jung, Kyu Eun Lee, Eun-Jae Chung, Kyungsik Kim, Su-jin Kim, Woochul Kim, Yoo Hyung Kim, Young Ki Lee, Jinsun Jang, Young Shin Song, Ka Hee Yi,
Journal of Korean Medical Science.2026;[Epub] CrossRef
Study Protocol of Expanded Multicenter Prospective Cohort Study of Active Surveillance on Papillary Thyroid Microcarcinoma (MAeSTro-EXP) (Endocrinol Metab 2025;40:236-46, Jae Hoon Moon et al.)
Eun Kyung Lee, Jae Hoon Moon, Young Joo Park
Endocrinology and Metabolism.2025; 40(4): 655. CrossRef
Study Protocol of Expanded Multicenter Prospective Cohort Study of Active Surveillance on Papillary Thyroid Microcarcinoma (MAeSTro-EXP) (Endocrinol Metab 2025;40:236-46, Jae Hoon Moon et al.)
Hoonsung Choi
Endocrinology and Metabolism.2025; 40(4): 653. CrossRef
Habitat imaging combined with multimodal analysis for preoperative risk stratification of papillary thyroid carcinoma
Jia-Wei Feng, You-Long Zhu, Lu Zhang, Yu-Xin Yang, An-Cheng Qin, Shui-Qing Liu, Yong Jiang
Insights into Imaging.2025;[Epub] CrossRef

Corrigendum

Miscellaneous
Corrigendum: Author's Name Correction. Study Protocol of Multicenter Prospective Cohort Study of Active Surveillance on Papillary Thyroid Microcarcinoma (MAeSTro): Jae Hoon Moon, Ji-hoon Kim, Eun Kyung Lee, Kyu Eun Lee, Sung Hye Kong, Yeo Koon Kim, Woo-Jin Jeong, Chang Yoon Lee, Roh-Eul Yoo, Yul Hwangbo, Young Shin Song, Min Joo Kim, Sun Wook Cho, Su-jin Kim, Eun-Jae Chung, June Young Choi, Chang Hwan Ryu, You Jin Lee, Jeong Hun Hah, Yuh-Seog Jung, Junsun Ryu, Yunji Hwang, Sue K. Park, Ho Kyung Sung, Ka Hee Yi, Do Joon Park, Young Joo Park; Endocrinol Metab. 2018;33(3):427. Published online August 14, 2018; DOI: https://doi.org/10.3803/EnM.2018.33.3.427

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Citations

Citations to this article as recorded by

Invasiveness and Metastatic Aggressiveness in Small Differentiated Thyroid Cancers: Demography of Small Papillary Thyroid Carcinomas in the Swedish Population
Haytham Bayadsi, Martin Bergman, Malin Sund, Joakim Hennings
World Journal of Surgery.2020; 44(2): 461. CrossRef
Clinical and pathologic predictors of lymph node metastasis in papillary thyroid microcarcinomas
Ling Zhao, Xiaoya Sun, Yukun Luo, Fulin Wang, Zhaohui Lyu
Annals of Diagnostic Pathology.2020; 49: 151647. CrossRef

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