Anaplastic thyroid cancer: About 10 cases

To study the clinical, evolutionary, and therapeutic features of anaplastic thyroid carcinomas. Retrospective study of 10 cases collected in our department between 1994 and 2022. They were 9 women and 1 man with a mean age of 50 years (41–78 years). The reason for consultation was a cervical swelling in 100% of the cases. Dyspnea was noted in 3 cases. The average duration of the symptomatology was 14 weeks. The tumor was plunging into the mediastinum in 3 cases. In 6 cases, there was an invasion of the trachea and/or the subhyoid muscles. Lymph node metastases were noted in 7 patients, bone metastases in 3 patients and pulmonary metastases in 2 cases. Histological confirmation of the diagnosis was made on the thyroidectomy specimen in 6 cases, and on a microbiopsy of the thyroid gland in 4 cases. A tracheotomy was performed in 3 cases. 6 patients had a total thyroidectomy. The rest of the patients were inoperable. Radiochemotherapy was indicated in all patients. 9 patients died after a mean delay of 11 months [8 months to 13 months]. One patient is still alive with a 1-month follow-up. Anaplastic thyroid carcinoma is a cancer with a poor prognosis. Patients managed at the stage of localized disease can expect a better survival. Therapeutic research is exploring targeted therapies that block the EGF receptor or inhibit neoplastic angiogenesis.