Cancer Management and Research (Apr 2022)
Transformation from Small Cell to Squamous Cell Carcinoma in a Thymic Carcinoma Patient with a Durable Response to Anlotinib: A Case Report
Abstract
Wenru Qin,1,2,* Bing Zou,2,* Xinyu Fan,2,3 Bingjie Fan,2 Shijiang Wang,2 Linlin Wang2 1Department of Oncology, Weifang Medical University, Weifang, Shandong, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Radiation Oncology, Shandong Cancer Hospital and Institute, Shandong First Medical University and Shandong Academy of Medical Sciences, Jinan, Shandong, People’s Republic of China; 3Department of Oncology, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong, People’s Republic of China*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Linlin Wang, Department of Radiation Oncology, Shandong Cancer Hospital and Institute, Shandong First Medical University and Shandong Academy of Medical Sciences, Jiyan Road 440, Jinan, Shandong, 250117, People’s Republic of China, Tel +86-531-67626142, Email [email protected]: The most common pathologic type of thymic carcinoma (TC) is squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). Small cell carcinoma is relatively rare, accounting for approximately 2% to 5% of all thymic tumors. Histologic transformation of TC has not yet been reported. Available treatments for TC patients who progress after first-line therapy are limited, which contributes to their poor prognosis. We reported an extraordinary case of a 66-year-old man who was diagnosed with thymic small cell carcinoma that transformed into SCC after third-line treatment. Surprisingly, the patient had a progression-free survival (PFS) of 25 months and an overall survival (OS) of 10 years on anlotinib as fourth-line therapy. The tolerance was well. Thus, anlotinib may be a safe and promising treatment for TC patients, especially those who undergo histologic transformation.Keywords: thymic carcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma, small cell carcinoma, histologic transformation, anlotinib
