Abstract
Anaplastic thyroid cancer is a rare but extremely aggressive type of thyroid cancer. Treatment typically consists of surgery, external beam radiotherapy and cytotoxic chemotherapy. However, available literature suggests only modest survival benefit for cytotoxic chemotherapy. Recent advances have suggested the combination of BRAF and MEK inhibition may have a profound and durable effect on patients with BRAFV600E-mutated anaplastic thyroid cancer, with a response rate of 69%. Other systemic treatments, including immunotherapies, have also shown promising but more limited results. Many clinical trials assessing the efficacy of kinase inhibitors and immunotherapies are currently ongoing.
Keywords:
Anaplastic thyroid cancer; BRAF inhibition; Cancer therapy; MEK inhibition; Multikinase inhibitors; Selective kinase inhibitors; Targeted drugs.
Copyright 2018 Clarivate Analytics.
MeSH terms
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Animals
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Antineoplastic Agents, Immunological / adverse effects
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Antineoplastic Agents, Immunological / therapeutic use*
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Biomarkers, Tumor / antagonists & inhibitors*
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Biomarkers, Tumor / genetics
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Biomarkers, Tumor / immunology
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Biomarkers, Tumor / metabolism
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Drug Resistance, Neoplasm
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Genetic Predisposition to Disease
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Humans
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Molecular Targeted Therapy
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Phenotype
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Protein Kinase Inhibitors / adverse effects
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Protein Kinase Inhibitors / therapeutic use*
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Signal Transduction / drug effects
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Thyroid Carcinoma, Anaplastic / drug therapy*
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Thyroid Carcinoma, Anaplastic / enzymology
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Thyroid Carcinoma, Anaplastic / genetics
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Thyroid Carcinoma, Anaplastic / immunology
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Thyroid Neoplasms / drug therapy*
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Thyroid Neoplasms / enzymology
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Thyroid Neoplasms / genetics
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Thyroid Neoplasms / immunology
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Treatment Outcome
Substances
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Antineoplastic Agents, Immunological
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Biomarkers, Tumor
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Protein Kinase Inhibitors