NEW YORK (Reuters Health), Aug 2 - Patients with rare but aggressive anaplastic thyroid carcinomas responded extremely well to radiation and concomitant docetaxel in a small case series from Austria.
Four of the six patients had complete remissions, and the other two had partial responses. At a median follow-up of 21.5 months, only one patient has died, according to senior author Dr. Markus Raderer of the Medical University of Vienna and colleagues.
Median survival with these tumors is usually in the range of three months, the authors say.
In a June 30 online article in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, the research team reports that all six received standard external-beam radiation along with docetaxel at a flat dose of 100 mg every three weeks. A complete course of treatment consisted of six cycles, or 60 Gy, but three patients stopped at 40, 44, and 50 Gy because of side effects.
Three patients had tumor debulking surgery before treatment began, but none had complete resections. Two patients had lung metastases.
All patients had severe side effects from therapy, nearly always as a result of the radiation. All had to be hospitalized for parenteral nutrition and fluid replacement.
So far, individual survival durations from the start of therapy are 3.5, 12, 18, 21, 32, and 40 months. Only one patient -- the one who survived 40 months -- has died. This patient relapsed with lung metastases.
Thus, despite the severe toxicities, the researchers conclude that the approach is effective and "larger trials are warranted."
Source: http://link.reuters.com/kev52n
J Clin Endocrinol Metab 2010.
Last Updated: 2010-07-30 13:56:24 -0400 (Reuters Health)
Related Reading
Mayo Clinic patients with fatal thyroid cancer beat odds, June 14, 2010
Copyright © 2010 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon. Reuters and the Reuters sphere logo are registered trademarks and trademarks of the Reuters group of companies around the world.
