SARASOTA, Fla. (Sept. 5, 2025) – Sarasota Memorial thyroid/parathyroid specialist Ralph P. Tufano, MD, MBA, FACS, has been recognized among a panel of leading medical experts who have issued new guidelines for the treatment of differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC), the most prevalent cancer of the thyroid.
Published in the peer-reviewed journal Thyroid last month, the “2025 American Thyroid Association Management Guidelines for Adult Patients with Differentiated Thyroid Cancer” provides the most authoritative and respected evidence-based recommendations in the world for managing DTC, which makes up about 90% of all thyroid cancers. Dr. Tufano co-authored the updated guidelines after collaborating the past five years with a task force of endocrinology, oncology, surgery, nuclear medicine, pathology, patient advocacy, and evidence-based medicine specialists.
Last updated in 2015, the new clinical practice guidelines “help set the standard of care for future generations of patients with thyroid cancer,” said Jacqueline Jonklaas, MD, PhD, president of the American Thyroid Association.
“There have been many advances in the management of differentiated thyroid cancer, such as papillary thyroid cancer, over the last 10 years, and the new guidance will help clinicians provide their patients with the most contemporary and personalized care,” said Dr. Tufano, director of First Physicians Group (FPG) Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery at Sarasota Memorial Hospital (SMH) and the SMH/FPG Thyroid and Parathyroid Center and a physician leader with SMH’s Brian D. Jellison Cancer Institute and Kolschowsky Research and Education Institute.
The 2025 guidelines begin with the initial cancer diagnosis and continue with recommendations for staging and risk assessment; initial treatment decisions; assessment of treatment responses; monitoring approaches; diagnostic testing; and subsequent therapies based on the strength of evidence for response and consideration of side-effects and outcomes. Patient-reported outcomes, thyroid cancer survivorship, and identified areas of need for additional high-quality research are highlighted.
Richard Brown, medical director of SMH’s Brian D. Jellison Cancer Institute, commended Dr. Tufano for his contributions to the new guidelines, which were the result of five years of rigorous collaboration among specialists in a multidisciplinary task force led by Co-Chairs Matthew Ringel, MD, from The Ohio State University College of Medicine and Comprehensive Cancer Center, and Julie Ann Sosa, MD, from the University of California San Francisco.
“We are incredibly proud of Dr. Tufano’s contributions to this national effort,” said Dr. Brown. “His work reflects the Jellison Cancer Institute’s commitment to clinical excellence and leadership in cancer care.”
To read the full guidelines, visit Thyroid, the official journal of the ATA.
About Sarasota Memorial Health Care System (smh.com)
Sarasota Memorial Health Care System is a regional medical center offering Southwest Florida’s greatest breadth and depth of care, with 2,500 physicians and advanced practice providers and nearly 2 million patient visits a year across its network of care. Sarasota County’s largest employer, the community-owned health system includes two full-service hospitals in Sarasota and Venice, freestanding ERs in North Port and Lakewood Ranch, a rehabilitation hospital, behavioral health hospital, skilled nursing facility and comprehensive network of outpatient centers, urgent care clinics and physician practices. Founded in 1925, SMH is celebrating its 100-year anniversary in 2025 and encouraging community members to visit smh.com/100 throughout the year for centennial events and updates.