Anaplastic thyroid cancer with uncommon long-term survival.
In general, most thyroid cancers are indolent and have a slowly progressive course. The exception is anaplastic thyroid cancer. It is one of the most fatal neoplasms in humans, with median survival of 4-12 months. Here, we present a patient with anaplastic thyroid cancer who survived for more than 10 years after diagnosis. A 68-year-old man was incidentally found to have anaplastic thyroid cancer during operation for follicular neoplasm. Total thyroidectomy was performed and hyperfractionated radiotherapy was carried out. After operation, annual follow-up examinations were negative for residual tumor or metastatic lesions. The patient also had chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and unfortunately died of pneumonia in a local hospital 10 years after thyroid operation.
Liu
Ai-Hung
AH
Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Department of Medicine, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan, R.O.C.
Juan
Li-Ying
LY
Yang
An-Hang
AH
Chen
Harn-Shen
HS
Lin
Hong-Da
HD
D000368:Aged; D002277:Carcinoma / Q000401:mortality* / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy; D019583:Dose Fractionation, Radiation; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D013964:Thyroid Neoplasms / Q000401:mortality* / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy; D013965:Thyroidectomy