Anaplastic thyroid carcinoma in Denmark 1996–2012: A national prospective study of 219 patients

Publication date: April 2018
Source:Cancer Epidemiology, Volume 53
Author(s): Gitte Bjørn Hvilsom, Stefano Christian Londero, Christoffer Holst Hahn, Sten Schytte, Henrik Baymler Pedersen, Peer Christiansen, Katalin Kiss, Stine Rosenkilde Larsen, Marie Louise Jespersen, Giedrius Lelkaitis, Christian Godballe
BackgroundAnaplastic thyroid carcinoma (ATC) is the least common but most malignant thyroid cancer. We aimed to examine the characteristics as well as evaluate the incidence, prognostic factors, and if introduction of a fast track cancer program might influence survival in a cohort of ATC patients.MethodsA cohort study based on prospective data from the national Danish thyroid cancer database DATHYRCA and the national Danish Pathology Register including 219 patients diagnosed from 1996 to 2012, whom were followed until death or through September 2014.ResultsWe found the median age in the 7th decade, the majority of patients being women presenting with a growing mass at the neck, diagnosed with stage T4b disease. At diagnosis, 56% of the patients had lymph node metastasis and 38% distant metastasis.We observed one- and five-year survival of 20.7% and 11.0%, respectively.Both univariate and multivariate analyses showed age (above 73.6 years), respiratory impairment, T4b stage, and distant metastasis at diagnosis to be significant prognostic factors. Further, introduction of a national fast track cancer program increased survival nearly two-fold.ConclusionAs new information, our study adds "respiratory impairment at diagnosis" and "introduction of a national fast track cancer program" to the list of already established prognostic indicators for ATC.



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