title: Successful radiation treatment of anaplastic thyroid carcinoma metastatic to the right cardiac atrium and ventricle in a pacemaker-dependent patient.
abstract: Anaplastic thyroid carcinoma (ATC) is a rare, aggressive malignancy, which is known to metastasize to the heart. We report a case of a patient with ATC with metastatic involvement of the pacemaker leads within the right atrium and right ventricle. The patient survived external beam radiation treatment to his heart, with a radiographic response to treatment. Cardiac metastases are usually reported on autopsy; to our knowledge, this is the first report of the successful treatment of cardiac metastases encasing the leads of a pacemaker, and of cardiac metastases from ATCs, with a review of the pertinent literature.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation Oncology, 1600 Divisadero Street, Suite H1031, San Francisco, California 94102-1708, USA. dasguptat@radonc.ucsf.edu
authors.forename: Tina
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Dasgupta
authors.forename: Igor J
authors.initials: IJ
authors.lastname: Barani
authors.forename: Mack
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Roach
mesh_terms: D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001281:Atrial Fibrillation / Q000150:complications / Q000628:therapy; D006325:Heart Atria / Q000528:radiation effects; D006338:Heart Neoplasms / Q000150:complications / Q000532:radiotherapy* / Q000556:secondary; D006352:Heart Ventricles / Q000528:radiation effects; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010138:Pacemaker, Artificial; D050397:Radiotherapy, Intensity-Modulated; D065646:Thyroid Carcinoma, Anaplastic; D013964:Thyroid Neoplasms / Q000150:complications / Q000473:pathology / Q000532:radiotherapy; D016896:Treatment Outcome