Behaviour of anaplastic thyroid carcinoma in tertiary care Centre, South India.

Dr. S. ZAHIR HUSSAIN; Dr. M.P. KUMARAN

Volume : VII, Issue : XI, November - 2018

Behaviour of anaplastic thyroid carcinoma in tertiary care Centre, South India.

Dr. S. Zahir Hussain, Dr. M. P. Kumaran

Abstract :

Introduction: Anaplastic thyroid cancer (ATC) is one of the most aggressive solid tumors to affect humans, with a median survival on the order of 3 to 5 months following diagnosis [1]. Recent advances in understanding the genetic and molecular pathogenesis of ATC hold promise for targeted therapy for this disease.

Methods: This retrospective study was conducted for 7 years from 2011 to 2018, included patients who were admitted in the endocrine surgery department in the tertiary hospital with thyroid malignancies. The clinical, operative, cytological, and histological data were tabulated and statistically analyzed.

Results: Of the 386 patients analyzed, 350 patients (91.57%) were females and 36 patients were males (9%) (P < 0.001) which shows high significant difference between genders at 0.1% level. Final Histopathology showed papillary thyroid carcinoma in 340 patients, poorly differentiated thyroid carcinoma in 8 patients, anaplastic thyroid carcinoma in 18 patients. Out of 18 patients with anaplastic thyroid carcinoma 8 patients presented with mild dyspnea, 2 patients had dysphagia and 10 patients suffered from hoarseness of voice. The mean patients age were 45 years. 12 patients had intra thyroid tumour, 4 patients had invasion to the strep muscles, 2 patients had adhered to trachea. Overall cause specific mortality rate was 60% at 6 months and 40 % at 12 months.

Conclusion: The overall prognosis of ATC continues to be poor with the 5 year survival from 5.6 to 11.4% . Age is the most important factor in the patients with ATC.