Anaplastic thyroid carcinoma (ATC) is one of the most malignant human neoplasms and has a grave prognosis. This study gives an update on our experience with this unusual neoplasm, with specific focus on the response to various treatment modalities. Forty-seven patients with histologically proven ATCs were enrolled (19 men, 28 women; mean age, 62.8 years). This number represents 1.5% among a total of 3, 088 thyroid cancers treated between 1977 and 2002. The mean tumor diameter was 8.8 cm, and 22 patients had distant metastasis. Extrathyroidal extension was seen in 26 (89.7%) of the cases that underwent surgery. Treatment modalities adopted could be classified into 5 groups: Group 1, biopsy only; Group 2, biopsy and chemoradiotherapy; Group 3, debulking only; Goup 4, debulking and chemoradiotherapy; Group 5, complete excision and chemoradiotherapy. Survival was calculated from the time of diagnosis, and comparisons of survival were done by log-rank analysis. The mean survival was 4.3 months (range, 1.0-21 months). The mean survival based on treatment modalities were as follows: Group 1 (n = 10), 2.1 months, Group 2 (n = 8) ; 3.6 months; Group 3 (n = 7), 3.0 months; Group 4 (n = 14), 3.5 months, Group 5 (n = 8), 9.4 months. There was no significant difference in survival time between the various types of treatment modalities. Even though a small improvement in survival was observed with complete excision and aggressive multimodality therapy, nearly all ATCs remain unresponsive to ongoing treatment modalities and as such, present a therapeutic dilemma. A more effective treatment regimen should be sought in order to improve survival.
Treatment Outcome ; Thyroid Neoplasms/mortality/surgery/*therapy ; Survival Analysis ; Radiotherapy, Adjuvant ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Middle Aged ; Male ; Humans ; Female ; Combined Modality Therapy ; Chemotherapy, Adjuvant ; Carcinoma/mortality/surgery/*therapy ; Aged, 80 and over ; Aged ; Adult

OBJECTIVES: This study was designed to investigate the effect of delivery nursing care using essential oils on labor stress response, labor anxiety and postpartum status anxiety for primipara. METHODS: This study used nonequivalent control group pretest-posttest design. The subjects of this experiment consisted of forty eight primipara with single gestation, full term, & uncomplicated pregnancies. Twenty four primipra were in the experimental and control group each. Their mean age was 27.9 years old, their mean gestation period 279.9 days. As a treatment, delivery nursing care using essential oils was applied by nurses. Data collected epinephrine, norepinephrine, anxiety during labor. In the 24 hours after birth, the data for the postpartum mother's status anxiety was collected. Data was analyzed by t-test, repeated measures ANOVA, Mann-Whitney U test, & Wilcoxon signed ranks test with SPSS Program. RESULTS: Plasma epinephrine, norepinephrine were significantly low in the experimental group (P=0.001, P=0.033, respectively). There was no significant difference between the two groups in anxiety during labor and postpartum mother's status anxiety. CONCLUSION: These findings indicate that delivery nursing care using essential oils could be effective in decreasing plasma epinephrine, norepinephrine. But, that could not be verified in decreasing mother's anxiety.
Stress/*prevention & control ; Pregnancy ; Postpartum Period/*psychology ; Oils, Volatile/*therapeutic use ; Norepinephrine/blood ; Labor, Obstetric/*psychology ; Humans ; Female ; Epinephrine/blood ; Delivery, Obstetric/*nursing ; *Aromatherapy ; Anxiety/*prevention & control ; Adult

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to compare the surgical completeness and outcome of total thyroidectomy in two patient groups: One treated by harmonic scalpel (HS) and one by conventional total thyroidectomy (CT). METHODS: Between March 2006 and December 2007, 104 patients had total thyroidectomy by HS and 108 patients underwent CT. We analyzed clinicopathological characteristics and stimulated serum thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH), thyroglobulin (Tg), and anti-Tg antibodies at the time of ablation for both groups. RESULTS: Compared with the CT group, the HS group had shorter operating time and hospital stays and reduced postoperative drainage. At postsurgical ablation, mean serum TSH was 80.47 +/- 21.77 mU/L in the HS group and 69.74 +/- 21.17 mU/L in the CT group, with significant between-group differences (P < 0.001). Mean serum Tg levels after TSH stimulation were 1.57 +/- 3.17 and 3.95 +/- 10.14 ng/mL in the HS and CT groups, respectively, with significant between-group differences (P = 0.028). CONCLUSION: Total thyroidectomy with an HS is a relatively safe and effective technique for use in patients with PTC. The HS provides surgical completeness and has a beneficial effect on successful ablation.
Antibodies ; Carcinoma ; Drainage ; Factor IX ; Humans ; Length of Stay ; Thyroglobulin ; Thyroid Gland ; Thyroid Neoplasms ; Thyroidectomy ; Thyrotropin

PURPOSE: Hurthle cell carcinoma (HCC) of the thyroid gland is a rare disease that represents 3% of all thyroid carcinomas. HCC has been known as a more aggressive disease than the usual differentiated thyroid carcinoma. However, the biologic behavior and optimal treatment have come under considerable debate in recent years. This study was performed to evaluate the clinicopathologic features and treatment outcome of HCC. METHODS: From April 1986 to August 2006, 18 patients with HCC and 216 patients with pure follicular carcinoma (PFC) underwent thyroidectomy at our institutions with a mean follow-up of 114 (range: 6~253) months. The clinicopathologic characteristics and treatment outcome of each group were compared, and the prognostic factors for disease-free survival were analyzed. RESULTS: There were 14 women and 4 men with a mean age of 50 (range: 26~76) years. Compared with PFC patients, all of clinicopathologic features of HCC patients were different (gender, age, tumor size, multifocality, angioinvaion, invasion to adjacent structures, the subclassification and initial distant metastasis), but the high incidence of bilaterality was similar to the PFC patients (P<0.0001). The cause- specific survival (CSS) rates at 10 years were 83.4% in the HCC patients and 89.3% in the PFC patients (P=0.702). Older age (greater than 45) (P=0.0125) and initial distant metastasis (P<0.0001) in the HCC patients, and an older age (P<0.0001), male gender (P=0.0039), angioinvasion (P= 0.0122), invasion to adjacent structures (P<0.0001), a widely invasive type (P=0.004) and initial distant metastasis (P<0.0001) in the PCC patients were independent prognostic factors for survival. CONCLUSION: After accounting for important biologic behaviors, patients with HCC had similar clinicopathologic characteristics and prognosis compared with that of the PFC patients. Therefore, HCC should be managed using the same treatment strategy as PFC.
Accounting ; Adenocarcinoma, Follicular ; Disease-Free Survival ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Incidence ; Male ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Prognosis ; Rare Diseases ; Thyroid Gland ; Thyroid Neoplasms ; Thyroidectomy ; Treatment Outcome

The clinical behaviors and treatment outcomes of thyroid carcinomas in patients with Graves' disease is a matter of controversy. This study aimed to identify the clinicopathologic features, treatment outcome, and the indicators for predicting recurrence, and to suggest the optimal extent of surgery in these patients. We retrospectively analyzed data of 58 patients who underwent surgical treatment for differentiated thyroid cancer and concurrent Graves' disease. The follow-up period ranged from 23 to 260 months (mean+/-standard devuation, 116.8+/-54.0). In our series, the mean age was 40.8+/-12.7 yr (range, 15-70), with a male-to-female ratio of 1: 6.25. The mean tumor size was 13+/-9 mm (range, 3-62). The surgical methods included 19 cases of total thyroidectomy, 38 cases of subtotal thyroidectomy, and 1 case of completion total thyroidectomy. Locoregional recurrence occurred in four patients (6.9%). The 10-yr overall survival and disease-free survival of patients were 95.8% and 91.1%, respectively. Age over 45 yr (p=0.031), tumor size over 10 mm (p=0.049), multiplicity (p=0.007), extracapsular invasion (p=0.021), and clinical cancer (p=0.035) were significantly more prevalent in patients with locoregional recurrence than in those without recurrence. We recommend that Graves' disease patients should undergo regular ultrasonography screening for early detection of thyroid carcinoma. We also suggest that the choice of extent of surgery should depend on the diagnostic timing (clinical or incidental) and factors for predicting recurrence.
Adult ; Comorbidity ; Disease-Free Survival ; Female ; Graves Disease/*complications/*therapy ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Recurrence ; Thyroid Neoplasms/*complications/*therapy ; Time Factors ; Treatment Outcome

Forgotten mediastinal goiter is an extremely rare disease. It is most often the consequence of the incomplete removal of a ‘ plunging’ goiter, but it can sometimes be attributed to a concomitant, unrecongnized primary mediastinal goiter which is not connected to the thyroid. A primary mediastinal goiter(autonomous intrathoracic goiter) essentially caused by an abnormal embryonic development of the thyroid gland and a thyroid gland formation located in the thorax or the mediastinum. The differential diagnosis with ordinary recurrence was based on the absence of parenchymatous or vascular connections with the cervical thyroid gland. It is fed by local intrathoracic vessels and observed in the absence of previous thyroidectomy. Nevertheless, for primary mediastinal goiter, sternum-splitting incision will be required in most cases as troublesome mediastinal bleeding may occur which is difficult to control from a cervical collar incision. In this study we report a case of forgotten mediastinal goiter and review the various diagnostic and therapeutic problems posed by the condition. A number of possible solutions that can be implemented for this diasease are identified.
Diagnosis, Differential ; Embryonic Development ; Female ; Goiter* ; Hemorrhage ; Mediastinum ; Pregnancy ; Rare Diseases ; Recurrence ; Thorax ; Thyroid Gland ; Thyroidectomy

Cribriform-morular variant (CMV) is a rare histologic subtype of papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC). Patients with familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP) could be associated with several comorbid diseases including thyroid cancer. Most thyroid cancers in them are PTCs, but infrequently CMV types can occur. The FAP concomitant CMV-PTCs are found predominantly in young women and reveals lower recurrence rate. Moreover, this variant shows circumscribed morphology and rarely metastasizes to node. Because the incidence of thyroid carcinoma is higher than that in general population, comprehensive evaluation of thyroid gland should be performed for the patients with FAP. Because thyroid cancer could be first manifestation of FAP, colonic screening should be considered in CMV-PTC patient. We report two cases of CMV-PTCs concurrent with FAP.
Adenomatous Polyposis Coli* ; Carcinoma, Papillary* ; Colon ; Female ; Humans ; Incidence ; Mass Screening ; Recurrence ; Thyroid Gland ; Thyroid Neoplasms

PURPOSE: Distant metastases, as the initial sign of a differentiated thyroid carcinoma, are extremely rare. The clinical characteristics for such cases remain to be established. This study was performed to characterize the clinical presentation, treatments, and outcome in such patients. METHODS: Between January 1986 and February 2005, of 4,525 differentiated thyroid cancer patients, 18 presented with distant metastases as the initial sign (0.4%). These comprised of 6 men and 12 women, with a median age of 49 years (range 9~66). Of the 18 patients, 8 (44.4%), 7 (38.9%), and 3 (16.7%) disclosed symptoms from lung, bone, and brain (16.7%) metastases, respectively. The median follow-up was 92 months, ranging from 18 to 198. RESULTS: The symptoms included cough and sputum (n=5), hemoptysis (n=2) and a lung mass (n=1) from lung metastases, back pain (n=3), a palpable mass (n=2) and a pathologic fracture (n=2) from bone metastases, as well as a headache with nausea (n=3) in all cases with brain metastases. The sites of metastases were the lung only in 7 (38.9%), bone only in 7 (38.9%) and multi-organ in 4 (22.2%). The histological diagnoses were a papillary carcinoma in 10 and a follicular carcinoma in 8. All patients underwent a total thyroidectomy followed by therapeutic radio-iodine therapy (RAI) and TSH suppressive treatment. For the metastatic lesions, aggressive treatment modalities, including surgical resection (n=9), external beam radiation (n=11), gamma-knife surgery (n=1) and a combination of these, were performed. The 10 year overall and disease-free survivals were 91.7 and 51.4%, respectively. There was only one disease-related death (1.6%). Tumor multiplicity (p=0.023) and multi-organ metastasis (p=0.009) were significant predictors of a poor prognosis. CONCLUSION: Clinical symptoms, history, physical examination, imaging studies and histological confirmation of distant metastatic lesions are important in the initial diagnostic approach. Even though distant metastasis presented as the initial sign, a 10-year disease-free survival rate of 50% was obtained. Radical resection of primary and metastatic lesions combined with high dose RAI treatment and/or external irradiation lead to long-term survival.
Back Pain ; Brain ; Carcinoma, Papillary ; Cough ; Diagnosis ; Disease-Free Survival ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Fractures, Spontaneous ; Headache ; Hemoptysis ; Humans ; Lung ; Male ; Nausea ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Physical Examination ; Prognosis ; Sputum ; Thyroid Gland* ; Thyroid Neoplasms* ; Thyroidectomy

Laparoscopic adrenalectomy has become a gold standard in adrenal gland surgery. More recently, some minimally invasive trials have been conducted on single access surgery on the adrenal gland. In this study, we introduce our first experiences of robot-assisted posterior retroperitoneoscopic adrenalectomy using single-port access and the da Vinci system.
Adrenal Glands ; Adrenalectomy ; Retroperitoneal Space ; Robotics

PURPOSE: Central compartment reoperation for recurrent thyroid carcinoma is challenging to surgeons due to the scar tissues and adhesions and the distortion of the normal anatomic relationships. This study was carried out to investigate the central neck recurrence patterns and the surgical morbidity of reoperation for patients with papillary thyroid carcinoma. METHODS: The study population was comprised 68 papillary thyroid carcinoma patients (15 males and 53 females, median age: 50.8 years [range: 12~78 years]) who underwent reoperation for recurrent tumors in the central compartment of the neck between January 1999 and June 2007. All of the patients had undergone prior total thyroidectomy. RESULTS: Of the 68 patients, 21 recurrences occurred in the proper thyroid tissue of the thyroid bed, 43 in the central neck nodes and 4 in a combination of the central nodes and proper thyroid tissue. The common recurrent site from the proper thyroid tissue were at the berry ligaments and at the level of the upper one-third of the recurrent laryngeal nerves, while the common nodal recurrence sites were the lower-most portion of the paratracheal nodes and the right paraesophageal nodes (the lymph nodes posterior to the right recurrent laryngeal nerve). Eleven cases of transient hypocalcemia (17.5%, 11/63) and 3 cases of permanent hypocalcemia (4.3%, 3/63) were noted after reoperation. Recurrent laryngeal nerve injury occurred in 5 patients (8.1%, 5/62), but three of them were intentionally resected with the recurrent cancers. CONCLUSION: Reoperation for central neck recurrence of papillary thyroid carcinoma is associated with a higher complication rate. Meticulous surgical dissection of the central compartment based on the recurrent patterns is important to reduce injury to the recurrent laryngeal nerves and parathyroid glands.
Carcinoma ; Cicatrix ; Female ; Fruit ; Humans ; Hypocalcemia ; Intention ; Ligaments ; Lymph Nodes ; Male ; Neck ; Recurrence ; Recurrent Laryngeal Nerve ; Recurrent Laryngeal Nerve Injuries ; Reoperation ; Thyroid Gland ; Thyroid Neoplasms