Treatment of Anaplastic Thyroid Carcinoma

Anaplastic thyroid carcinoma is the most aggressive type of thyroid cancer and, unfortunately, is almost always fatal. Over 90% of patients with anaplastic thyroid carcinoma are 50 years of age or older and are predominantly women. Most patients usually have widespread, advanced local disease or distant metastases to lungs, bone, or the brain at the time of diagnosis. Because anaplastic thyroid carcinoma tends to invade the upper respiratory tract, about 50% of patients die from upper respiratory tract obstruction (suffocation).

Currently, there is no curative treatment for anaplastic thyroid carcinoma. Treatment is primarily palliative in nature and is designed to relieve the symptoms of the disease rather than treat the underlying cancer. In rare cases (about 20%) where the cancer is localized to the area of the neck, surgery may be performed to remove the tumor. Following surgery, patients also usually receive external-beam radiation therapy and may also be treated with chemotherapy.