Jean Vicks: A Vision That Continues to Drive Discovery
In 2003, Jean Vicks asked a question that would help transform the future of thyroid cancer research. At the time, thyroid cancer received limited research attention due to its relative rarity, accounting for fewer than one percent of all cancers. While most patients with thyroid cancer are successfully treated and live normal life spans, those diagnosed with aggressive or metastatic forms often faced far different outcomes.
Patients with anaplastic thyroid cancer frequently had life expectancies measured in months. Individuals living with advanced medullary, Hürthle cell (oncocytic), and poorly differentiated thyroid cancers had few effective treatment options and limited hope for long-term survival.
For decades, progress in treating metastatic thyroid cancer had been slow. Between the 1950s and 2010, only one therapy was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for advanced thyroid cancer. While it could slow disease progression for some patients, it was not curative.
This was the landscape when Jean and her husband, Dwight Vicks, met with leaders in the thyroid cancer research community.
Jean was living with medullary thyroid cancer, and she challenged physicians and researchers with a simple but profound question:
“In an age when new therapies exist for so many cancers, why are there no new therapies for metastatic thyroid cancer?”
Her question became a call to action.
Those conversations led to the founding of the International Thyroid Oncology Group (ITOG), an organization built on the belief that meaningful progress against rare and aggressive thyroid cancers would require collaboration beyond institutional and geographic boundaries.
Although Jean later lost her battle with cancer, the organization she inspired has become a global leader in advancing research, fostering collaboration, and expanding treatment options for patients worldwide.
Building a Global Network
From the beginning, ITOG’s leadership recognized that meaningful progress would depend on international collaboration. Jean envisioned bringing together a “Dream Team” of physicians, researchers, and scientists dedicated to metastatic thyroid cancer, experts who could work across institutions, disciplines, and borders to catalyze a cure for rare and aggressive thyroid cancers.
Because metastatic thyroid cancer is rare, advancing research requires bringing together expertise, patients, and resources from around the world. No single institution can solve these challenges alone.
Today, ITOG includes representation from leading cancer centers across five continents and unites endocrinologists, medical oncologists, surgeons, radiation oncologists, pathologists, translational scientists, and researchers in a shared mission to improve outcomes for patients with advanced thyroid cancer.
A Legacy of Progress
Over the past two decades, ITOG has helped transform thyroid cancer research into a truly global collaborative effort dedicated to accelerating discoveries and bringing new treatments to patients.
Through clinical trials, research initiatives, and collaborative efforts supported by ITOG and its members, more than ten FDA-approved therapies for advanced and rare thyroid cancers have emerged—offering new hope where few options once existed.
Beyond these milestones, ITOG investigators have led countless additional clinical trials, translational research programs, and scientific discoveries that continue to advance the understanding and treatment of thyroid cancer.
Today, ITOG physicians and researchers remain committed to carrying Jean’s vision forward through innovation, collaboration, and an unwavering dedication to improving patient outcomes worldwide.
Her question continues to guide our work.
Her legacy lives on in every discovery, every collaboration, and every patient who benefits from new treatment options.
