Three Cases of Anaplastic Thyroid Carcinoma Transformation and Leukocytosis during Lenvatinib Treatment
Since 2015, the cancer treatment lenvatinib has been used for patients with advanced radioactive iodine- (RAI-) refractory thyroid differentiated cancer; however, the drug’s long-term effects have not been fully investigated. We report three cases in which lenvatinib treatment initially improved the...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Hindawi Limited
2020-01-01
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| Series: | Case Reports in Endocrinology |
| Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2020/6667237 |
| Summary: | Since 2015, the cancer treatment lenvatinib has been used for patients with advanced radioactive iodine- (RAI-) refractory thyroid differentiated cancer; however, the drug’s long-term effects have not been fully investigated. We report three cases in which lenvatinib treatment initially improved the patients’ conditions, although they all died approximately 2 months after leukocytosis due to very aggressive disease progression with anaplastic thyroid carcinoma transformation. Serum interleukin-6 (IL-6) was elevated in all three cases, and granulocyte-colony stimulating factor (G-CSF) was elevated in two cases. The patients had a similar clinical course, with multiorgan metastasis and aggressive disease progression. Even with advanced cancer, lenvatinib has provided control of the disease. However, as long-term use of lenvatinib grows, it is possible that similar cases will increase, and we report our findings as an alert to other clinicians. |
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| ISSN: | 2090-6501 2090-651X |