联合疗法治疗罕见型甲状腺癌可以改善预后

根据一项最新报道，联合加强放疗、手术与化疗能够延长罕见类型甲状腺癌患者生存期。未分化甲状腺癌非常罕见但是病程进展较快，占诊断明确甲状腺癌患者的5％。过去大多数甲状腺肿瘤不能被手术切除，而放疗与化疗并不能延长生存期，大多数患者诊断后生存期少于6个月。

但是一项由M.D.Anderson癌症中心(Houston, TX, USA)科研人员进行的研究发现，采用激进的治疗方法联合手术、化疗和加强放疗能够延长未分化甲状腺癌患者的生存期。

在1990～2000年期间科研人员治疗了30例患者，中位数年龄是59岁。26患者癌症已经转移到了身体其他部位，包括淋巴结、肺和气管。7例患者由于癌体积过大不能手术切除。患者接受了三种不同治疗方案，平均生存期10个月，三年内总体生存率是27％。该项研究结果报道于2004年11月15日的《美国治疗放射学和肿瘤学》。

M.D.Anderson癌症中心放射肿瘤医生Renaud de Crevoisier医生说：“这种类型甲状腺癌的特点是颈部癌组织快速进展。因为肿瘤生长如此迅速，我们希望激进的放疗联合手术化疗能够在肿瘤扩散之前阻止这些快速生长的肿瘤细胞，允许患者存活更长时间。”

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.