What is anaplastic thyroid cancer?

Anaplastic thyroid cancer usually arises from a site of preexisting papillary thyroid cancer or follicular thyroid cancer. The transformed cells that grow to form this type of cancer divide rapidly to form disorganized masses. Anaplastic thyroid cancer tends to grow very rapidly, replacing the normal tissue of the thyroid gland and spreading to invade and metastasize to other structures in the neck. It does not respond well to treatment. Surgery and external beam radiation therapy may be used to treat cases where aggressive growth of cancer has significantly impaired swallowing or breathing. On the whole, anaplastic thyroid cancer has a very poor prognosis.

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