Anaplastic thyroid cancer

Abstract

Anaplastic thyroid cancer (ATC) is one of the most aggressive solid tumors ever known and it is a strange but very lethal form of cancer. The symptomatology that characterizes it is not specific, so it usually retards the diagnosis leading to the fact that most of the patients are diagnosed in advanced stages. This study presents the case of a 66-year-old female patient with a palpable mass in the front part of the neck, which grew very quickly and was accompanied by dysphagia, dyspnea, anorexia and weight loss. The fine-needle aspiration puncture allowed the diagnosis of an anaplastic thyroid carcinoma and surgical intervention was decided. On surgery a great thyroidal tumoral mass was observed, which macroscopically infiltrated the trachea and the esophagus making them stenosed. Exeresis of the tumor was performed and the patient recovered from dysphagia temporarily. The volume growth in the front part of the neck reappeared, as well as augmented dysphagia and dyspnea. Emergency tracheostomy was conducted keeping the patient unstable for five days. Twelve days after surgery the patient died, after suffering from a cardiorespiratory arrest of which she never recovered.

Keywords

• thyroid neoplasms
• thyroid carcinoma, anaplastic.