Anaplastic thyroid carcinoma in a pregnant patient: a case report
A 36-year-old woman was admitted to our center because of suspicion of an aggressive thyroid malignancy during pregnancy.After the diagnosis of anaplastic thyroid carcinoma was confirmed by additional histological evaluation, she underwent total thyroidectomy and adjuvant radiotherapy.After radiotherapy, she gave birth to a healthy child.The patient developed a solitary muscle metastasis in the left upper leg, 6 months after total thyroidectomy.Systemic therapy was started with the multikinase inhibitor lenvatinib.Although the metastasis showed response to the treatment, the patient developed a defect of the proximal trachea, ultimately leading to a fatal carotid blowout.This is the first reported case of a patient with anaplastic thyroid carcinoma during pregnancy, underlining the clinical and ethical challenges during pregnancy in patients with aggressive malignancies and the importance of a multidisciplinary approach.Antiangiogenic multikinase inhibitors can induce severe recall toxicities after irradiation.
Authors
- Adriana C. H. van Engen–van Grunsven (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3154-3601)
- Bianca A.W. Hoeben (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3026-8721)
- Pepijn van Houten (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8503-4140)
- Petronella B. Ottevanger (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8209-487X)
- Han J. Bonenkamp (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3608-4184)
- Romana Teodora Netea-Maier (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9603-0460)
- Petra Servaes
- Marcel J. R. Janssen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2567-7734)
- Olivier W.H. van der Heijden
Institutions
- Radboud University Nijmegen (NL)
- Radboud University Medical Center (NL)
- University Medical Center Utrecht (NL)
Publication Details
- Journal
- ESMO rare cancers.
- Published
- 2025-12-09
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1016/j.esmorc.2025.100120
- Primary Topic
- Thyroid Cancer Diagnosis and Treatment
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00