Objective: Anaplastic thyroid carcinoma (ATC) is an endocrine tumor with low incidence and one of the most aggressive human malignancies. The median survival is only 3-10 months, and the optimal therapeutic approach as well as prognostic factors have not been established. The aim of this study was to evaluate the long-term survival and good prognostic factors of patients with ATC.
Patients and methods: The retrospective study used our institution's single-center database system. 31 patients with histopathological confirmation of anaplastic thyroid cancer from January 2014 to June 2022 were included.
Results: 31 patients with ATC [11 males (35.5%), 20 females (64.5%); average age, 58.7 years] were identified, 32.3% were stage IVA, 32.3% stage IVB, and 35.4% IVC. The median overall survival (OS) of the entire cohort was 6.9 ± 1.45 months. The OS at two years was 12.1%. The female with no cervical lymph node metastasis, undergoing surgery, and tumor size < 6 cm were associated with improved OS. Patients undergoing surgery followed by chemoradiation therapy had the highest median OS (11 ± 1.83 months) and 21.8% of 2-year survival.
Conclusions: Anaplastic thyroid carcinoma is a highly malignant tumor. Patients receiving surgical resection had better OS than patients without these treatments. The combination of surgery and chemoradiation could improve OS.