Anaplastic Carcinoma of the Thyroid: Report of Nine Cases

Nine cases of anaplastic carcinoma of the thyroid were reviewed,with focus on the therapy adopted and the prognosis. Surgeryand chemotherapy were considered to have no therapeutic effect.Irradiation therapy, although it was used in only one case,was thought to be effective. Except for one patient with smallcell carcinoma, all of the patients died within six months aftera diagnosis was established. One of the factors which may affectthe prognosis seems to be the histologic figure. Four patientswere found to have other differentiated thyroid carcinomas.Differences in the constituents of the tumor seem to have noinfluence on its biological behavior. The poor prognosis foranaplastic carcinoma of the thyroid is confirmed although thenumber of cases is too small for a definite conclusion to bedrawn.