Preoperative chemotherapy for giant cell carcinoma of the thyroid.

Reported is the case of a 24-year-old white man with inoperable giant cell carcinoma of the thyroid who achieved tumor regression following therapy with bleomycin, Adriamycin and cisplatinum. After 2 courses of chemotherapy, the tumor was deemed operable, and the patient underwent total thyroidectomy followed by radiation to the neck and upper mediastinum without maintenance chemotherapy. Two-and-one-half years after the initial diagnosis, he developed pulmonary metastases which again responded to Adriamycin and cisplatinum therapy. The above approach suggests that inoperable thyroid carcinoma can be made operable by preoperative combination chemotherapy. This treatment program deserves further exploration for a greater number of patients.