Investigation of the Validity of UICC Stage Grouping of Anaplastic Carcinoma of the Thyroid

Abstract

Anaplastic thyroid carcinoma arises from differentiated carcinoma and has a very aggressive character. In this study, we investigated the prognosis of patients with anaplastic carcinoma based on UICC stage. We investigated the prognosis of 75 patients who were diagnosed as having anaplastic carcinoma at Kuma Hospital between 1983 and 2006. Of these patients, 14, 49 and 12 were classified into Stages IVA, IVB, and IVC respectively. Stage IVA patients showed a significantly better prognosis than Stage IVB or IVC patients (p = 0.0017). All patients with Stage IVC died of carcinoma within 1 year regardless of whether locally complete resection was performed. Prognosis of Stage IVB patients who underwent curative surgery did not differ from that of Stage IVA patients, but the prognosis of those who did not undergo surgery or only received palliative surgery was as poor as that of Stage IVC patients. Extensive surgical treatment is recommended for Stage IVA patients and palliative care is appropriate for Stage IVC patients. For Stage IVB patients, surgical treatment as a primary therapy is appropriate only when curative resection of the tumour is expected.