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Undifferentiated (Anaplastic) Carcinoma and Secondary Tumors

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Book cover Thyroid Cytopathology

Part of the book series: Essentials in Cytopathology ((EICP,volume 8))

Abstract

Unlike most thyroid carcinomas, undifferentiated carcinoma (anaplastic carcinoma) is an extremely aggressive malignancy with a poor prognosis. It generally occurs in elderly patients where it presents as a large, firm mass that infiltrates extrathyroidal tissues. For most undifferentiated carcinomas, surgical resection is not an effective treatment and only palliative therapies are used. Consequently, the pathologist may be called upon to establish the diagnosis of undifferentiated carcinoma by fine needle aspiration (FNA) to guide the clinical management (Figure 11.1).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pathology, The Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, Baltimore, MD, USA

    Douglas P. Clark

  2. Department of Pathology Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA

    William C. Faquin

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  1. Douglas P. Clark
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  2. William C. Faquin
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Correspondence to Douglas P. Clark .

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Clark, D.P., Faquin, W.C. (2010). Undifferentiated (Anaplastic) Carcinoma and Secondary Tumors. In: Thyroid Cytopathology. Essentials in Cytopathology, vol 8. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-5954-6_11

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-5954-6_11

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4419-5952-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4419-5954-6

  • eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)

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