Combined therapy for undifferentiated giant and spindle cell carcinoma of the thyroid.
Undifferentiated giant and spindle cell carcinoma is an unusual and high-grade malignant type of cancer of the thyroid. The results of surgical and/or radiotherapeutic treatment have been discouraging. Only a few patients respond to therapy, usually for a short time. Recently, a few reports have been published on the effect of chemotherapy or a combined treatment of surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy. In the present paper the results of combining radiotherapy and chemotherapy, 5-FU and cyclophosphamide, are reported. For the future a more aggressive approach is discussed. The therapy should include surgical resection of the main bulk of the tumour, followed by radiotherapy and concomitant chemotherapy and thereafter prolonged adjuvant chemotherapy.
D000368:Aged; D002277:Carcinoma / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000532:radiotherapy / Q000628:therapy*; D003520:Cyclophosphamide / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use; D005260:Female; D005472:Fluorouracil / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006801:Humans; D007275:Injections, Intravenous; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D013964:Thyroid Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000532:radiotherapy / Q000628:therapy*
D003520:Cyclophosphamide; D005472:Fluorouracil