Skip to main content

Anaplastic Cancer and Rare Forms of Cancer Affecting the Thyroid

  • Chapter
  • 1114 Accesses

Abstract

This chapter will focus on anaplastic thyroid carcinoma (ATC), thyroid lymphoma, and metastases to the thyroid gland from non-thyroid cancers. Although these entities represent three uncommon clinical scenarios, thyroid physicians should be knowledgeable on how to manage each. ATC is a highly lethal disease with survival usually measured in months. Management should be focused on diagnosis, appropriate counseling, and supportive care, and when possible, clinical trial enrollment. Thyroid lymphoma, most commonly diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL), is not typically treated with thyroidectomy, but patients often present to the surgeon for initial management and biopsy. Lastly, metastatic disease that has spread to the thyroid gland has a number of important considerations, most notably that patients undergoing thyroid metastasectomy should be highly selected and offered resection only after multidisciplinary evaluation.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.

Buying options

Chapter
USD   29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD   39.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD   54.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD   54.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Learn about institutional subscriptions

References

  1. Hundahl SA, Fleming ID, Fremgen AM, Menck HR. A national cancer data base report on 53,856 cases of thyroid carcinoma treated in the U.S., 1985–1995 [see comments]. Cancer. 1998;83:2638–48.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  2. Kitamura Y, Shimizu K, Nagahama M, Sugino K, Ozaki O, Mimura T, Ito K, Ito K, Tanaka S. Immediate causes of death in thyroid carcinoma: clinicopathological analysis of 161 fatal cases. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 1999;84:4043–9.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  3. Smallridge RC, Marlow LA, Copland JA. Anaplastic thyroid cancer: molecular pathogenesis and emerging therapies. Endocr Relat Cancer. 2009;16:17–44.

    Article  PubMed Central  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  4. Kebebew E, Greenspan FS, Clark OH, Woeber KA, McMillan A. Anaplastic thyroid carcinoma. Treatment outcome and prognostic factors. Cancer. 2005;103:1330–5.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  5. Cancer Genome Atlas Research N. Integrated genomic characterization of papillary thyroid carcinoma. Cell. 2014;159:676–90.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Landa I, Ganly I, Chan TA, Mitsutake N, Matsuse M, Ibrahimpasic T, Ghossein RA, Fagin JA. Frequent somatic TERT promoter mutations in thyroid cancer: higher prevalence in advanced forms of the disease. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2013;98:E1562–6.

    Article  PubMed Central  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  7. Smallridge RC, Ain KB, Asa SL, Bible KC, Brierley JD, Burman KD, Kebebew E, Lee NY, Nikiforov YE, Rosenthal MS, Shah MH, Shaha AR, Tuttle RM, American Thyroid Association Anaplastic Thyroid Cancer Guidelines T. American Thyroid Association guidelines for management of patients with anaplastic thyroid cancer. Thyroid. 2012;22:1104–39.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  8. Mohebati A, Dilorenzo M, Palmer F, Patel SG, Pfister D, Lee N, Tuttle RM, Shaha AR, Shah JP, Ganly I. Anaplastic thyroid carcinoma: a 25-year single-institution experience. Ann Surg Oncol. 2014;21:1665–70.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  9. Sherman EJ, Lim SH, Ho AL, Ghossein RA, Fury MG, Shaha AR, Rivera M, Lin O, Wolden S, Lee NY, Pfister DG. Concurrent doxorubicin and radiotherapy for anaplastic thyroid cancer: a critical re-evaluation including uniform pathologic review. Radiother Oncol. 2011;101:425–30.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  10. Haymart MR, Banerjee M, Yin H, Worden F, Griggs JJ. Marginal treatment benefit in anaplastic thyroid cancer. Cancer. 2013;119:3133–9.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  11. Walsh S, Lowery AJ, Evoy D, McDermott EW, Prichard RS. Thyroid lymphoma: recent advances in diagnosis and optimal management strategies. Oncologist. 2013;18:994–1003.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  12. Holm LE, Blomgren H, Lowhagen T. Cancer risks in patients with chronic lymphocytic thyroiditis. N Engl J Med. 1985;312:601–4.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  13. Derringer GA, Thompson LD, Frommelt RA, Bijwaard KE, Heffess CS, Abbondanzo SL. Malignant lymphoma of the thyroid gland: a clinicopathologic study of 108 cases. Am J Surg Pathol. 2000;24:623–39.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  14. Graff-Baker A, Roman SA, Thomas DC, Udelsman R, Sosa JA. Prognosis of primary thyroid lymphoma: demographic, clinical, and pathologic predictors of survival in 1,408 cases. Surgery. 2009;146:1105–15.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  15. Isaacson PG. Mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue lymphoma. Semin Hematol. 1999;36:139–47.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  16. Pyke CM, Grant CS, Habermann TM, Kurtin PJ, van Heerden JA, Bergstralh EJ, Kunselman A, Hay ID. Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma of the thyroid: is more than biopsy necessary? World J Surg. 1992;16:604–9. Discussion 609–610.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  17. Ha CS, Shadle KM, Medeiros LJ, Wilder RB, Hess MA, Cabanillas F, Cox JD. Localized non-Hodgkin lymphoma involving the thyroid gland. Cancer. 2001;91:629–35.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  18. Hull OH. Critical analysis of two hundred twenty-one thyroid glands; study of thyroid glands obtained at necropsy in Colorado. AMA Arch Pathol. 1955;59:291–311.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  19. Nixon IJ, Whitcher M, Glick J, Palmer FL, Shaha AR, Shah JP, Patel SG, Ganly I. Surgical management of metastases to the thyroid gland. Ann Surg Oncol. 2011;18:800–4.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  20. Katz SC, Shaha A. PET-associated incidental neoplasms of the thyroid. J Am Coll Surg. 2008;207:259–64.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  21. Untch BR, Olson JA, Jr. Anaplastic thyroid carcinoma, thyroid lymphoma, and metastasis to thyroid. Surg Oncol Clin N Am. 2006;15:661–79, x.

    Google Scholar 

  22. Tanvetyanon T, Robinson LA, Schell MJ, Strong VE, Kapoor R, Coit DG, Bepler G. Outcomes of adrenalectomy for isolated synchronous versus metachronous adrenal metastases in non-small-cell lung cancer: a systematic review and pooled analysis. J Clin Oncol. 2008;26:1142–7.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  23. Montero PH, Ibrahimpasic T, Nixon IJ, Shaha AR. Thyroid metastasectomy. J Surg Oncol. 2014;109:36–41.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Brian R. Untch M.D. .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2016 Springer International Publishing Switzerland

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Untch, B.R., Olson, J.A. (2016). Anaplastic Cancer and Rare Forms of Cancer Affecting the Thyroid. In: Hanks, J., Inabnet III, W. (eds) Controversies in Thyroid Surgery. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-20523-6_16

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-20523-6_16

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-20522-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-20523-6

  • eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics