"18F-FDG PET-CT: active metabolic uptake 9"
"Tumoural cells have enormous hyperchromatic nuclei with high mitotic activity, including atypical mitoses. Necrosis is usually dominant. If the submission is enough, features of papillary thyroid carcinoma, follicular carcinoma or poorly differentiated carcinoma may be found in association with anaplastic features. Malignant sarcomatoid and heterogenous differentiation like bone or cartilage tissue is not uncommon. Vascular invasion is highly characteristic of anaplastic carcinoma 7."
"The prognosis is very poor, with a median survival of 2 months and a 5-year survival ~5%, and considered invariably fatal 6,9. These tumours are automatically considered stage IV disease by the TNM staging system 9."
"Anaplastic thyroid cancer is rare, with an incidence of ~0.2 cases per 100,000 population 9,10. It typically occurs in the elderly, with the peak incidence in the 6th and 7th decades 9,10. There is a recognised mild female predilection (F:M = 2:1.5) 6,9,10."
"Positive immunohistochemistry markers composed of cytokeratins, vimentin, and PAX8 10. Negative markers are TTF1, thyroglobulin, calcitonin, chromogranin and synaptophysin. Anaplastic carcinoma usually produces GCSF (granulocyte-colony stimulating factor), so it can cause leucocytosis 8."
"Many (~40%; range 29-50%) of patients have metastatic disease (lungs, brain) at the time of diagnosis 9."
"Patients are treated with a combination of surgery, chemotherapy, external beam radiation therapy, and/or targeted therapy (e.g. multikinase inhibitors, tyrosine inhibitors, immunotherapy) depending on therapeutic or palliative treatment goals 9,10."