American scientist
Dr.
Yuri Nikiforov is an American scientist who revolutionized the understanding of thyroid cancer, most recently winning a two-year battle in which the World Health Organization has agreed in 2017 to reclassify non-invasive thyroid tumors to non-cancerogenic liaisons.
Those tumors typically have some, but not all, characteristics of cancer.
The WHO has agreed to change the term for the tumors from Encapsulated Follicular Variant of Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma to Noninvasive Follicular Thyroid Neoplasm With Papillary-like Nuclear Features, or NIFTP.
About 45,000 people a year are diagnosed with NIFTP in the world.
The decision led to a change in protocol of medical treatment, which no longer required removal of the whole thyroid gland from such patients as well as ended the use of radioactive iodine, extending their life expectancy and quality of life.
The patients still undergo surgery, in which their thyroid tumors are removed, typically with half, but not all, of the thyroid gland.