Efficacy of combined treatment for anaplastic thyroid carcinoma: Results of a multinstitutional retrospective analysis

IntroductionAnaplastic thyroid carcinoma (ATC) is a killer tumor, characterized by local invasiveness, risk of recurrence and very poor prognosis. Due to its rarity, clinical case studies concerning management are lacking.MethodsWe retrospectively reviewed a multinstitutional clinical series of 114 consecutive patients treated between 1996 and 2012 for ATC. The outcomes of a combined treatment were analyzed considering the impact of surgery and radiotherapy on survival.ResultsPatients were divided in groups A and B considering tumor size (tumor lesser and larger than 5 cm). Surgery was carried out in 71 patients, radiotherapy in 89 patients. Tracheostomy and endoprothesis were used respectively in 48.7% and in 25.6% of patients. The mean survival was 5.35 (±3.2) months with no significant difference in group A vs group B. A better survival was observed in both groups of patients undergone a surgical treatment compared to no treated patients (p = 0.001 and p = 0.0001) or to patients undergone radiotherapy alone (p = 0.047 and p = 0.0001). Combination of surgery and radiotherapy significantly improved outcome (p = 0.017).DiscussionDespite disappointing results from single therapeutic approach, multimodal strategy has progressively become the treatment of choice in ATC, with surgery being the cornerstone of the management.ConclusionAlthough dismal prognosis, the combined treatment might significantly improves locoregional disease control, achieving acceptable survival in selected patients and adequate palliation of the symptoms.