Abstract
Background: Iodine-refractory differentiated thyroid carcinoma (IRDTC) is associated with increased recurrence, metastatic disease, and mortality. Sorafenib and lenvatinib are approved in IDC for the treatment of locally unresectable disease and/or progressive metastatic disease, considering their positive impact on progression-free survival (PFS) and disease control. However, some patients develop resistance from the outset or after initiating these treatments.
Objective: To identify the molecular resistance mechanisms described to these tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) in IDC.
Methodology: A literature search was conducted, including articles in English or Spanish, all study types, and studies from the past 15 years. The PICO search strategy was: thyroid cancer OR thyroid carcinoma OR thyroid neoplasms AND sorafenib OR lenvatinib AND resistance OR non-response OR therapeutic failure. It does not present ethical implications.
Results: Three studies reported resistance to sorafenib and one to lenvatinib in IDC.
Conclusions: The identified resistance mechanisms were decreased miR-124/506, increased TSP-1 and TFG? induced by tumor pericytes, and KRAS and TERT mutations.
References
Dal Maso L, Tavilla A, Pacini F, Serraino D, van Dijk BAC, Chirlaque MD, Capocaccia R, Larrañaga N, Colonna M, Agius D, Ardanaz E, Rubió-Casadevall J, Kowalska A, Virdone S, Mallone S, Amash H, De Angelis R; EUROCARE-5 Working Group. Survival of 86,690 patients with thyroid cancer: A population-based study in 29 European countries from EUROCARE-5. Eur J Cancer. 2017 May;77:140-152. doi: 10.1016/j.ejca.2017.02.023. Epub 2017 Apr 11. PMID: 28410490.
Ruegemer JJ, Hay ID, Bergstralh EJ, Ryan JJ, Offord KP, Gorman CA. Distant metastases in differentiated thyroid carcinoma: A multivariate analysis of prognostic variables. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 1988;67(3):501–8.
Liu X, Qu S, Liu R, Sheng C, Shi X, Zhu G, Murugan AK, Guan H, Yu H, Wang Y, Sun H, Shan Z, Teng W, Xing M. TERT promoter mutations and their association with BRAF V600E mutation and aggressive clinicopathological characteristics of thyroid cancer. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2014 Jun;99(6):E1130-6. doi: 10.1210/jc.2013-4048. Epub 2014 Mar 11. PMID: 24617711; PMCID: PMC4037723.
Xing M, Westra WH, Tufano RP, Cohen Y, Rosenbaum E, Rhoden KJ, Carson KA, Vasko V, Larin A, Tallini G, Tolaney S, Holt EH, Hui P, Umbricht CB, Basaria S, Ewertz M, Tufaro AP, Califano JA, Ringel MD, Zeiger MA, Sidransky D, Ladenson PW. BRAF mutation predicts a poorer clinical prognosis for papillary thyroid cancer. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2005 Dec;90(12):6373-9. doi: 10.1210/jc.2005-0987. Epub 2005 Sep 20. PMID: 16174717.
Durante C, Haddy N, Baudin E, Leboulleux S, Hartl D, Travagli JP, Caillou B, Ricard M, Lumbroso JD, De Vathaire F, Schlumberger M. Long-term outcome of 444 patients with distant metastases from papillary and follicular thyroid carcinoma: benefits and limits of radioiodine therapy. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2006 Aug;91(8):2892-9. doi: 10.1210/jc.2005-2838. Epub 2006 May 9. PMID: 16684830.
Faugeras L, Pirson AS, Donckier J, Michel L, Lemaire J, Vandervorst S, D'Hondt L. Refractory thyroid carcinoma: which systemic treatment to use? Ther Adv Med Oncol. 2018 Jan 23;10:1758834017752853. doi: 10.1177/1758834017752853. PMID: 29399055; PMCID: PMC5788129.
Petranovi? Ov?ari?ek P, de Keizer B, Campennì A, Kreissl MC, Deandreis D, Tuncel M, Giovanella L. Radioiodine-refractory thyroid cancer-is it time to change the definition in light of novel redifferentiation therapies? Eur J Nucl Med Mol Imaging. 2025 Jan;52(2):380-385. doi: 10.1007/s00259-024-06991-5. PMID: 39560781.
Fallahi P, Ferrari SM, Galdiero MR, Varricchi G, Elia G, Ragusa F, et al. Molecular targets of tyrosine kinase inhibitors in thyroid cancer [Internet]. Seminars in Cancer Biology. Elsevier Ltd; 2020. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.semcancer.2020.11.013
Brose MS, Nutting CM, Jarzab B, Elisei R, Siena S, Bastholt L, de la Fouchardiere C, Pacini F, Paschke R, Shong YK, Sherman SI, Smit JW, Chung J, Kappeler C, Peña C, Molnár I, Schlumberger MJ; DECISION investigators. Sorafenib in radioactive iodine-refractory, locally advanced or metastatic differentiated thyroid cancer: a randomised, double-blind, phase 3 trial. Lancet. 2014 Jul 26;384(9940):319-28. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(14)60421-9. Epub 2014 Apr 24. PMID: 24768112; PMCID: PMC4366116.
Schlumberger M, Tahara M, Wirth LJ, Robinson B, Brose MS, Elisei R, Habra MA, Newbold K, Shah MH, Hoff AO, Gianoukakis AG, Kiyota N, Taylor MH, Kim SB, Krzyzanowska MK, Dutcus CE, de las Heras B, Zhu J, Sherman SI. Lenvatinib versus placebo in radioiodine-refractory thyroid cancer. N Engl J Med. 2015 Feb 12;372(7):621-30. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa1406470. PMID: 25671254.
Brose MS, Robinson B, Sherman SI, Krajewska J, Lin CC, Vaisman F, Hoff AO, Hitre E, Bowles DW, Hernando J, Faoro L, Banerjee K, Oliver JW, Keam B, Capdevila J. Cabozantinib for radioiodine-refractory differentiated thyroid cancer (COSMIC-311): a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, phase 3 trial. Lancet Oncol. 2021 Aug;22(8):1126-1138. doi: 10.1016/S1470-2045(21)00332-6. Epub 2021 Jul 5. PMID: 34237250.
Wang Z, Dai J, Yan J, Zhang Y, Yin Z. Targeting EZH2 as a novel therapeutic strategy for sorafenib-resistant thyroid carcinoma. J Cell Mol Med. 2019 Jul;23(7):4770-4778. doi: 10.1111/jcmm.14365. Epub 2019 May 13. PMID: 31087496; PMCID: PMC6584518.
Xue L, Yan H, Chen Y, Zhang Q, Xie X, Ding X, Wang X, Qian Z, Xiao F, Song Z, Wu Y, Peng Y, Xu H. EZH2 upregulation by ER? induces proliferation and migration of papillary thyroid carcinoma. BMC Cancer. 2019 Nov 12;19(1):1094. doi: 10.1186/s12885-019-6306-9. PMID: 31718595; PMCID: PMC6852908. Sawicka-Gutaj N, Shawkat S, Andrusiewicz M, Zió?kowska P, Czarnywojtek A, Gut P, Rucha?a M. EZH2 and SMYD3 expression in papillary thyroid cancer. Oncol Lett. 2021 May;21(5):342. doi: 10.3892/ol.2021.12603. Epub 2021 Mar 2. PMID: 33747199; PMCID: PMC7967944
Prete A, Lo AS, Sadow PM, Bhasin SS, Antonello ZA, Vodopivec DM, Ullas S, Sims JN, Clohessy J, Dvorak AM, Sciuto T, Bhasin M, Murphy-Ullrich JE, Lawler J, Karumanchi SA, Nucera C. Pericytes Elicit Resistance to Vemurafenib and Sorafenib Therapy in Thyroid Carcinoma via the TSP-1/TGF?1 Axis. Clin Cancer Res. 2018 Dec 1;24(23):6078-6097. doi: 10.1158/1078-0432.CCR-18-0693. Epub 2018 Aug 3. PMID: 30076136; PMCID: PMC6279578.
Isham CR, Netzel BC, Bossou AR, Milosevic D, Cradic KW, Grebe SK, Bible KC. Development and characterization of a differentiated thyroid cancer cell line resistant to VEGFR-targeted kinase inhibitors. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2014 Jun;99(6):E936-43. doi: 10.1210/jc.2013-2658. Epub 2014 Mar 14. PMID: 24628546; PMCID: PMC5393484.
Ohno K, Shibata T, Ito KI. Epidermal growth factor receptor activation confers resistance to lenvatinib in thyroid cancer cells. Cancer Sci. 2022 Sep;113(9):3193-3210. doi: 10.1111/cas.15465. Epub 2022 Jul 12. PMID: 35723021; PMCID: PMC9459297.
Hofmann MC, Kunnimalaiyaan M, Wang JR, Busaidy NL, Sherman SI, Lai SY, Zafereo M, Cabanillas ME. Molecular mechanisms of resistance to kinase inhibitors and redifferentiation in thyroid cancers. Endocr Relat Cancer. 2022 Sep 14;29(11):R173-R190. doi: 10.1530/ERC-22-0129. PMID: 35975971; PMCID: PMC9534048.
Khan HY, Ge J, Nagasaka M, Aboukameel A, Mpilla G, Muqbil I, Szlaczky M, Chaker M, Baloglu E, Landesman Y, et al. 2019 Targeting XPO1 and PAK4 in 8505C anaplastic thyroid cancer cells: putative implications for overcoming lenvatinib therapy resistance. International Journal of Molecular Sciences 21 237. (https://doi. org/10.3390/ijms21010237)
Giordano T. TCGA genomic characterization of papillary thyroid carcinoma. Endocr Abstr. 2015;159(3):676–90.doi: 10.1530/endoabs.38.S6.3
Luo Y, Jiang H, Xu W, Wang X, Ma B, Liao T, Wang Y. Clinical, Pathological, and Molecular Characteristics Correlating to the Occurrence of Radioiodine Refractory Differentiated Thyroid Carcinoma: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Front Oncol. 2020 Sep 30;10:549882. doi: 10.3389/fonc.2020.549882. PMID: 33117686; PMCID: PMC7561400.
Santoro M, Melillo RM. Genetics: The genomic landscape of papillary thyroid carcinoma. Nat Rev Endocrinol [Internet]. 2015;11(3):133–4. Available from: http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nrendo.2014.209
Zoghlami A, Roussel F, Sabourin JC, Kuhn JM, Marie JP, Dehesdin D, et al. BRAF mutation in papillary thyroid carcinoma: Predictive value for long-term prognosis and radioiodine sensitivity. Eur Ann Otorhinolaryngol Head Neck Dis [Internet]. 2014;131(1):7–13. Available from: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.anorl.2013.01.004
Melo M, da Rocha AG, Vinagre J, Batista R, Peixoto J, Tavares C, Celestino R, Almeida A, Salgado C, Eloy C, Castro P, Prazeres H, Lima J, Amaro T, Lobo C, Martins MJ, Moura M, Cavaco B, Leite V, Cameselle-Teijeiro JM, Carrilho F, Carvalheiro M, Máximo V, Sobrinho-Simões M, Soares P. TERT promoter mutations are a major indicator of poor outcome in differentiated thyroid carcinomas. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2014 May;99(5):E754-65. doi: 10.1210/jc.2013-3734. Epub 2014 Jan 29. PMID: 24476079; PMCID: PMC4191548.
Nucera C, Porrello A, Antonello ZA, Mekel M, Nehs MA, Giordano TJ, Gerald D, Benjamin LE, Priolo C, Puxeddu E, Finn S, Jarzab B, Hodin RA, Pontecorvi A, Nose V, Lawler J, Parangi S. B-Raf(V600E) and thrombospondin-1 promote thyroid cancer progression. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2010 Jun 8;107(23):10649-54. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1004934107. Epub 2010 May 24. PMID: 20498063; PMCID: PMC2890809.
Weber M, Kersting D, Riemann B, Brandenburg T, Führer-Sakel D, Grünwald F, Kreissl MC, Dralle H, Weber F, Schmid KW, Herrmann K, Jentzen W, Grafe H, Rischpler C, Theurer S, Bockisch A, Nagarajah J, Fendler WP. Enhancing Radioiodine Incorporation into Radioiodine-Refractory Thyroid Cancer with MAPK Inhibition (ERRITI): A Single-Center Prospective Two-Arm Study. Clin Cancer Res. 2022 Oct 3;28(19):4194-4202. doi: 10.1158/1078-0432.CCR-22-0437. PMID: 35594174; PMCID: PMC9527501
Papanikolaou V, Kyrodimos E, Mastronikolis N, Asimakopoulos AD, Papanastasiou G, Tsiambas E, Spyropoulou D, Katsinis S, Manoli A, Papouliakos S, Pantos P, Ragos V, Peschos D, Chrysovergis A. Anti-EGFR/BRAF-Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitors in Thyroid Carcinoma. Cancer Diagn Progn. 2023 Mar 3;3(2):151-156. doi: 10.21873/cdp.10194. PMID: 36875315; PMCID: PMC9949544
Gianì F, Vella V, Tumino D, Malandrino P, Frasca F. The Possible Role of Cancer Stem Cells in the Resistance to Kinase Inhibitors of Advanced Thyroid Cancer. Cancers (Basel). 2020 Aug 11;12(8):2249. doi: 10.3390/cancers12082249. PMID: 32796774; PMCID: PMC7465706.
Hardin H, Helein H, Meyer K, Robertson S, Zhang R, Zhong W, Lloyd RV. Thyroid cancer stem-like cell exosomes: regulation of EMT via transfer of lncRNAs. Lab Invest. 2018 Sep;98(9):1133-1142. doi: 10.1038/s41374-018-0065-0. Epub 2018 Jul 2. PMID: 29967342; PMCID: PMC6138523.
Niu Y, Tang G, Wu X, Wu C. LncRNA NEAT1 modulates sorafenib resistance in hepatocellular carcinoma through regulating the miR-149-5p/AKT1 axis. Saudi J Gastroenterol. 2020 May 26;26(4):194–203. doi: 10.4103/sjg.SJG_4_20. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 32461380; PMCID: PMC7580733.
Rashid FA, Mansoor Q, Tabassum S, Aziz H, Arfat WO, Naoum GE, Ismail M, Farooqi AA. Signaling cascades in thyroid cancer: Increasing the armory of archers to hit bullseye. J Cell Biochem. 2018 May;119(5):3798-3808. doi: 10.1002/jcb.26620. Epub 2018 Jan 22. PMID: 29243843.
-Jundi M, Thakur S, Gubbi S, Klubo-Gwiezdzinska J. Novel Targeted Therapies for Metastatic Thyroid Cancer-A Comprehensive Review. Cancers (Basel). 2020 Jul 29;12(8):2104. doi: 10.3390/cancers12082104. PMID: 32751138; PMCID: PMC7463725.
Kumari S, Zhu H, et al; targeting PI3K/AKT/mTOR/ signaling and inhibition of BCR/ABL tyrosine kinase and glucose uptake overcome resistance to lenvatinib in thyroid cancer; Poster International Thyroid Congress; 2025

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Copyright (c) 2026 Revista Colombiana de Endocrinología, Diabetes & Metabolismo

