Anaplastic Thyroid Cancer Successfully Treated With Paclitaxel and Radiation: A Case Report

Abstract

Anaplastic thyroid cancer (ATC) is rare and aggressive, with an extremely low cure rate and poor prognosis. Here, we report a case of treating patients with ATC through multimodal treatment and review the related literature. We report the case of a 56-year-old woman who was referred to our hospital for getting treated for ATC, which extended to the external right tracheal wall and muscular layer of the esophagus, with lateral lymph node metastasis. The patient underwent concurrent chemoradiotherapy. Three cycles of weekly paclitaxel administration were conducted, along with intensity-modulated radiotherapy. In response evaluation after three cycles of paclitaxel treatment, the main mass showed a partial response, and 2 additional cycles of paclitaxel administration were included in the treatment regimen. After the 5 cycles, the patient showed a partial response and was considered operable. The patient underwent bilateral total thyroidectomy with central compartment neck dissection and bilateral modified radical neck dissection. More than 43 months following diagnosis, the patient is still alive without evidence of local recurrence or distant metastases. Paclitaxel-based concurrent chemoradiation therapy has demonstrated potential as an alternative and effective treatment option in patients with unresectable ATC, with a durable response of 43 months and mild toxicity.