This book highlights the increase in thyroid tumors and NET and demonstrates the growing importance of circulating markers in diagnosis as well as treatment and follow-up. Dramatic technical improvements have heightened the clinical impact of well-established, conventional biochemical markers. In addition, more recent genetic and molecular approaches have provided innovative molecular markers. In this context, effective communication between clinicians and laboratory physicians/scientists is essential in allowing all those involved to fully profit from these exciting advances.  In this comprehensive, up-to-date book, authors from different laboratory and clinical areas link laboratory and clinical topics. Analytical problems such as interferences, false-negative and false-positive results are discussed in depth, and flow-charts offer insights into identifying and avoiding them. Illustrated clinical cases detail the clinical role and limitations of different tumor markers. Lastly, itexplores health technology assessment and economic issues.

This is a valuable resource for endocrinologists, oncologists, nuclear medicine physicians, scientists and technologists who want to keep abreast of the latest developments.

Luca Giovanella completed his doctoral thesis at the University of Pavia (I) Medical School of in 1991. He subsequently obtained his postgraduate degrees in Nuclear Medicine (1995) and Endocrinology (2000) at the University of Milan (I) and was awarded an executive masters degree in Health Organisation and Human Resources Management (2000) by the Politecnico Universitario of Milan (I). He was a consultant at the University Hospital Fondazione Macchi of Varese (I) Department of Nuclear Medicine from 1993 to 2002, and he also chaired the Thyroid Unit and the Laboratory for Endocrinology from 1995 to 2002. Since 2003 he has been the Director of the Department of Nuclear Medicine-PET/CT and the Competence Centre for Thyroid Diseases at the Oncology Institute of Southern Switzerland (IOSI) in Bellinzona and Lugano. He also serves as a scientific advisor for the Department of Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine at Ente Ospedaliero Cantonale in Bellinzona. From 2008 to 2014 he hasbeen a Privat-Dozent (PD) and since 2015 he is a "Titular Professor" at the University of Zürichs Institute of Nuclear Medicine (Switzerland).
His clinical and scientific activities are mainly focused on the diagnosis and treatment of thyroid diseases with an emphasis on NUCLEAR IMAGING and therapy, ultrasound-guided interventional procedures and laboratory medicine (THYROID BIOMARKERS).

Circulating biomarkers: biological basis, methods and interpretation criteria.-Thyroid tumors: pathology and molecular patholog.-Differentiated thyroid cancer.- Diagnosis, therapy and follow-up.-Thyroglobulin and Thyroglobulin Autoantibodies.-Circulating molecular markers: an overview.-Medullary Thyroid Carcinoma.- Diagnosis, therapy and follow-up.-Calcitonin and Carcinoembryonic Antige.-Procalcitonin: are we ready for clinical use?.-Aggressive and Rare Thyroid Carcinoma:.Diagnosis and clinical management.- Circulating mucines and cytokeratins in aggressive thyroid cancers.-Neuroendocrine tumors: pathology and molecular pathology.-Neuroendocrine tumors: diagnosis, therapy and follow-up.-Chromogranin-A and other neuroendocrine tumour markers.- Neuroendocrine gene transcripts.