Overall survival in anaplastic thyroid carcinoma 2000 to 2019: impact of targeted therapy and neoadjuvant BRAF-MEK inhibition
At MD Anderson, survival in anaplastic thyroid cancer improved dramatically over two decades as BRAF testing, targeted therapy and neoadjuvant BRAF-MEK inhibition followed by surgery were introduced, with one-year survival rising from 35 to 59 percent.
Overview
Retrospective cohort study of 479 patients with anaplastic thyroid carcinoma treated at a single centre between 2000 and 2019, divided into three eras, examining the association of targeted therapy, immunotherapy and neoadjuvant BRAF-MEK inhibitor therapy with survival.
One-year overall survival rose from 35 percent (2000 to 2013) to 47 percent (2014 to 2016) and 59 percent (2017 to 2019); BRAF-mutant patients treated with neoadjuvant BRAF-directed therapy and surgery had 94 percent one-year survival.
- One-year overall survival 35 percent, 47 percent and 59 percent across three eras.
- Neoadjuvant BRAF-directed therapy with surgery: one-year survival 94 percent.
Neoadjuvant dabrafenib-trametinib to convert unresectable BRAF-mutant anaplastic thyroid cancer into operable disease is now a guideline-endorsed strategy.
- Single-centre retrospective data with era and selection effects.