根據一項最新報道，聯合加強放療、手術與化療能夠延長罕見類型甲狀腺癌患者生存期。未分化甲狀腺癌非常罕見但是病程進展較快，占診斷明確甲狀腺癌患者的5％。過去大多數甲狀腺腫瘤不能被手術切除，而放療與化療并不能延長生存期，大多數患者診斷后生存期少于6個月。

但是一項由M.D.Anderson癌癥中心(Houston, TX, USA)科研人員進行的研究發現，采用激進的治療方法聯合手術、化療和加強放療能夠延長未分化甲狀腺癌患者的生存期。

在1990～2000年期間科研人員治療了30例患者，中位數年齡是59歲。26患者癌癥已經轉移到了身體其他部位，包括淋巴結、肺和氣管。7例患者由于癌體積過大不能手術切除。患者接受了三種不同治療方案，平均生存期10個月，三年內總體生存率是27％。該項研究結果報道于2004年11月15日的《美國治療放射學和腫瘤學》。

M.D.Anderson癌癥中心放射腫瘤醫生Renaud de Crevoisier醫生說：“這種類型甲狀腺癌的特點是頸部癌組織快速進展。因為腫瘤生長如此迅速，我們希望激進的放療聯合手術化療能夠在腫瘤擴散之前阻止這些快速生長的腫瘤細胞，允許患者存活更長時間。”

Combo Treatment Better for Thyroid Cancer

Combining accelerated radiation therapy with surgery and chemotherapy helps patients with rare types of thyroid cancer live longer, according to a new report. Anaplastic thyroid carcinoma is a very rare but aggressive form of the disease, affecting less than 5% of those diagnosed with thyroid cancer. Most thyroid tumors in the past could not be surgically removed and chemotherapy and radiation did not improve survival, with most patients living less than six months after diagnosis.

A new study by researchers at the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center (Houston, TX, USA), however, suggests that an aggressive approach combining surgery, chemotherapy, and accelerated radiation therapy can improve survival for patients with anaplastic thyroid carcinoma.

Investigators in the study treated 30 patients with a median age of 59 from 1990 to 2000. The cancer had metastasized in 26 of the patients to other regions, including the lymph node, lungs, and trachea. Surgery could not be performed on seven patients because the tumor had grown too large. With patients receiving the three different treatments, average survival was 10 months with a 27% overall survival rate at three years. The study was published in the November 15, 2004, issue of the journal the American Society of Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology.

“The problem with this type of thyroid cancer is the rapid evolution in the neck. However, since the tumors grow so quickly, we’re hopeful that aggressive radiation therapy combined with surgery chemotherapy can halt these fast-growing cancer cells before they can spread, allowing people with this disease to live longer,” said Renaud de Crevoisier, M.D., a radiation oncologist at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center.