The UF Health Cancer Institute’s inaugural Thyroid Cancer Symposium on Nov. 8 brought together experts from the University of Florida and Moffitt Cancer Center who share a common goal: improving outcomes and quality of life for patients with thyroid cancer.
The main theme of the daylong symposium at the UF Health Cancer Institute was the power of collaboration, combining knowledge, experience and perspectives from a multidisciplinary team of specialists.
“The care of patients with thyroid cancer is complex and requires much more than clinical expertise alone,” said Naykky Singh Ospina, M.D., an associate professor in the UF College of Medicine’s Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism. “Above all, discussions emphasized that thyroid cancer care must remain patient-centered: the best treatment decisions arise when evidence-based medicine is balanced with the values, goals, and experiences of each individual patient.”
Singh Ospina organized the symposium with Gonzalo J. Acosta Garcia, M.D., an assistant professor in the UF Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism, and Elio Monsour, M.D., an assistant member in the Department of Head and Neck – Endocrine Oncology at Moffitt Cancer Center.
The day highlighted how multidisciplinary collaboration is transforming the landscape of thyroid cancer care, Monsour said.
“Each session — from neoadjuvant therapy to management of recurrent disease to tackling advanced thyroid cancer and lastly optimizing radioactive iodine use — reinforced the importance of personalized, data-driven approaches that combine precision with compassion,” he said.
The symposium underscored how much thyroid cancer care has evolved in recent years.
“Providing the highest quality care requires individualized, patient-centered and evidence-based decision-making to optimize outcomes while avoiding over-treatment and reducing complications,” Acosta Garcia said. “We also discussed that, given the overall low quality of evidence supporting many guideline recommendations, clinical judgment and patient preferences remain essential. As most patients with thyroid cancer survive, we must actively address their informational and psychological needs to enhance long-term quality of life.”
Specialties from both institutions enriched case discussions and research ideas during the symposium, which included four clinical case sessions and one session on quality improvement and research initiatives.
“The positive, open exchange of ideas strengthened our collective commitment to pushing the field forward — always with a focus on improving patient care and outcomes,” said Singh Ospina, who serves as vice chair of the Cancer Institute’s Data Integrity and Safety Committee. “This partnership sets the stage for continued shared research efforts, cross-institutional learning and team-based innovation in thyroid cancer care.”
The partnership between UF and Moffitt strengthens a statewide network of expertise that bridges academic research and clinical innovation. Together, the teams are using each institution’s strengths to refine ideas, share resources and generate higher-quality multicenter data, with the aim of improving the lives of patients across Florida and beyond.
The teams plan to continue collaborating and hope to make the symposium an annual event. The researchers and clinicians are also exploring new strategies to support thyroid cancer survivors.
