1. Information about this Guideline – Thyroid Cancer

The German Guideline Program in Oncology (GGPO) of the Association of the Scientific Medical Societies in Germany (AWMF), the German Cancer Society (DKG), and the German Cancer Aid Foundation (DKH).

This guideline was funded by German Cancer Aid as part of the GGPO.

Medicine is subject to a continuous development process, so that all information, particularly  in regard to diagnostic and therapeutic procedures, can only reflect the state of knowledge at the time of publication of the guideline. The utmost care has been taken with regard to the recommendations given for therapy and the selection and dosage of medications. Nevertheless, users are advised to consult the package inserts and specialist information provided by the manufacturers and, in case of doubt, to consult a specialist. In the general interest, any discrepancies should be reported to the GGPO editorial team.

The user remains responsible for any diagnostic and therapeutic application, medication, and dosage.

Registered trademarks (protected trade names) are not specifically identified in this guideline. Therefore, the absence of a corresponding reference does not mean that the product name is a free trade name.

The work is protected by copyright in its entirety. Any use outside the provisions of German copyright law without the written consent of the GGPO editorial team is prohibited and punishable by law. No part of the work may be reproduced in any form without the written permission of the GGPO editorial team. This applies in particular to reproductions, translations, microfilming and the storage, use, and exploitation in electronic systems, intranets, and the Internet.

The German Association of Scientific Medical Societies (AWMF), the German Cancer Society (DKG), and the German Cancer Aid (Deutsche Krebshilfe) have set themselves the goal of jointly promoting and supporting the development, updating and use of scientifically based and practicable guidelines in oncology with the German Guideline Program in Oncology (GGPO). This program is based on the medical-scientific findings of the specialist societies and the DKG, the consensus of medical experts, users and patients, as well as the AWMF guidelines and the technical support and funding provided by German Cancer Aid. In order to reflect the current state of medical knowledge and take medical progress into account, guidelines must be regularly reviewed and updated. The application of the AWMF guidelines should form the basis for the development of high-quality oncological guidelines. As guidelines are an important tool for quality assurance and quality management in oncology, they should be incorporated into everyday care in a targeted and sustainable manner. Active implementation measures and evaluation programs are therefore an important part of the promotion of the oncology guideline program. The aim of the program is to create professional and, in the medium term, financially secure conditions for the development and provision of high-quality guidelines in Germany. These high-quality guidelines not only serve the structured transfer of knowledge, but can also be used to shape the structures of the healthcare system. Examples include evidence-based guidelines as a foundation for creating and updating disease management programs or the use of quality indicators extracted from guidelines as part of the certification of organ tumor centers.