Lenvatinib in multimodal therapy for unresectable radioactive iodine‐naïve differentiated thyroid cancer: A case report with literature review

Abstract

Abstract Background Patients with unresectable or metastatic differentiated thyroid carcinoma (DTC) are rare and require individualized therapy. This may require approaches not typically used in resectable disease. We report a patient treated with lenvatinib and external beam radiation therapy. Case An 87‐year‐old woman presented with cT4N1aM1 papillary thyroid carcinoma with tracheal invasion. She was not a candidate for surgery, radioactive‐iodine, or radiation, so a trial of lenvatinib was offered. Her tumor showed clinical, biochemical, and radiological response after 5 months of lenvatinib, and she subsequently received external beam radiation. She enjoys good quality of life without evidence of cancer progression off therapy 21 months post‐initiation of treatment. Conclusion Lenvatinib may be effective in RAI‐naïve advanced DTC patients as a component of individualized multimodal therapy when conventional options are not feasible.

Keywords

• cancer care
• cancer management
• cancer medicine
• clinical observations
• head and neck cancer
• immunotherapy