The Asian Thyroid Working Group, from 2017 to 2023

Abstract

The Asian Thyroid Working Group was founded in 2017 at the 12th Asia Oceania Thyroid Association (AOTA) Congress in Busan, Korea. This group activity aims to characterize Asian thyroid nodule practice and establish strict diagnostic criteria for thyroid carcinomas, a reporting system for thyroid fine needle aspiration cytology without the aid of gene panel tests, and new clinical guidelines appropriate to conservative Asian thyroid nodule practice based on scientific evidence obtained from Asian patient cohorts. Asian thyroid nodule practice is usually designed for patient-centered clinical practice, which is based on the Hippocratic Oath, “First do not harm patients,” and an oriental filial piety “Do not harm one’s own body because it is a precious gift from parents,” which is remote from defensive medical practice in the West where physicians, including pathologists, suffer from severe malpractice climate. Furthermore, Asian practice emphasizes the importance of resource management in navigating the overdiagnosis of low-risk thyroid carcinomas. This article summarizes the Asian Thyroid Working Group activities in the past 7 years, from 2017 to 2023, highlighting the diversity of thyroid nodule practice between Asia and the West and the background reasons why Asian clinicians and pathologists modified Western systems significantly.