Synonyms
Giant and spindle cell carcinoma; Undifferentiated carcinoma
Definition
A rare primary carcinoma of the thyroid gland but one of the most aggressive malignant tumors.
Clinical Features
Incidence
It represents less than 5% of malignant tumors of the thyroid.
Age
Usually seen in people older than 50. Rarely seen before.
Sex
More often observed in women (sex ratio F/M 2–4:1).
Site
The tumor attacks very rapidly the thyroid gland in total with extension to the upper part of respiratory tract, soft tissues of the neck, bones, etc. Metastases are frequent, mostly lymph nodes and lungs metastases.
Treatment
Surgery, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy are three options; surgical treatment is chosen when the tumor is still more or less limited to the thyroid gland. A combination of surgery followed by radiotherapy has also been proposed. Recently, gene therapy combined with radioiodine has been attempted.
Outcome
Death in the next 3–6 months is the usual outcome.
Macroscopy
The thyroid...
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Brown, R. F., & Ducic, Y. (2013). Aggressive surgical resection of anaplastic thyroid carcinoma may provide long-term survival in selected patients. Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery, 148, 564–571.
Chiacchio, S., Lorenzoni, A., Boni, G., Rubello, D., Elisei, R., & Mariani, G. (2008). Anapalstic thyroid cancer: Prevalence, diagnosis and treatment. Minerva Endocrinologica, 33, 541–557.
Sastre-Perona, A., & Santisteban, P. (2012). Role of the Wnt pathway in thyroid cancer. Frontiers in Endocrinology, 3, 1–10.
So, Y., Lee, Y. J., Lee, W. W., & Chung, J. K. (2013). Determination of the optimal time for radioiodine therapy in anaplastic thyroid carcinoma using adenovirus-mediated transfer of sodium iodine supporter gene. Oncology Reports, 29, 1666–1670.
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Cochand-Priollet, B. (2017). Anaplastic Carcinoma of Thyroid, Cytological Findings. In: Schmitt, F. (eds) Cytopathology. Encyclopedia of Pathology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-33286-4_814
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-33286-4_814
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Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-33285-7
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-33286-4
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