Anaplastic Carcinoma

Abstract

All studies that have examined the outcome of patients with anaplastic carcinoma have demonstrated the grim prognosis associated with this disease. Product-limit estimates of median survival from diagnosis range from 3 to 7 months, and the 1- and 5-year survival probabilities are 20–35% and 5–10%, respectively (1–6). The cause of death is related to upper airway obstruction and suffocation in 50–60% (often despite the presence of a tracheostomy) and a combination of complications of local and distant disease in the remaining patients (2,7). Examination of survival curves from these studies reveals two distinct components: a sharp initial decline for the first 18–24 months, followed by a slower rate of death over the ensuing years (Fig. 1). However, in at least one study, most of the long-term survivors actually had lymphoma or medullary carcinoma rather than anaplastic tumors (1). Nonetheless, perhaps 5% of patients with anaplastic carcinoma may survive many years after initial diagnosis and treatment without evidence of recurrent disease (2,6).