Thyroid cancer diagnosis

PubMed, the Internet portal of biomedical and life sciences literature, indexed an interesting article, entitled “Poorly differentiated and anaplastic thyroid cancer” (Cancer Control. 2006 Apr;13(2):119-28). Authors are Patel Kn and Shaha AR from the Head and Neck Service, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, USA. Poorly differentiated thyroid carcinoma (PDTC) and anaplastic (undifferentiated) thyroid carcinoma (ATC) comprise a small subset of thyroid tumors that are associated with a poor prognosis and account for a significant portion of the morbidity and mortality related to thyroid cancer. Since management strategies vary between these two entities, it is important for clinicians to be able to differentiate PDTC from ATC. The authors reviewed the literature on PDTC and ATC and compared clinical and histopathologic features important in defining the disease process. The conclusions are that PDTC and ATC are rare diseases that carry a poor prognosis. Recognition of their different clinicopathologic features is important to the optimal management of these tumors. To access the full abstract of the article, click here.