Table 1.
Baseline Characteristics
| Characteristic | No. of patients (%) N = 54 |
|---|---|
| Sex | |
| Female | 29 (53.7) |
| Male | 25 (46.3) |
| Age (median 63) | |
| <60 years | 17 (31.5) |
| ≥60 | 37 (68.5) |
| Ethnicity | |
| Caucasian | 42 (77.8) |
| Hispanic | 5 (9.3) |
| Black | 3 (5.6) |
| Asian | 4 (7.4) |
| Tumor size (range 1.3–12 cm) | |
| Median: <5 cm | 25 (46.3) |
| ≥5 cm | 29 (53.7) |
| Stage | |
| IVA | 10 (18.5) |
| IVB | 17 (31.5) |
| IVC | 27 (50) |
| ATC transformationa | 10 (18.5) |
| Coexisting DTCb | 31 (57.4) |
| Lymph node involvement | 33 (61.1) |
| Histologic pattern (often mixed) | |
| Spindle | 18 (33.3) |
| Squamous | 10 (18.5) |
| Giant cell | 3 (5.6) |
| Pleomorphic | 6 (11.1) |
| Epithelioid | 10 (18.5) |
| Leukocytosisc | 9 (16.7) |
a
Transformation is defined as prior history of differentiated thyroid cancer, and only later developed anaplastic thyroid cancer.
b
Coexisting DTC is defined as presence of DTC at the time of ATC diagnosis.
c
Defined as greater than 10,000 white blood cells per microliter.
ATC, anaplastic thyroid cancer; DTC, differentiated thyroid cancer.