Percutaneous Radiofrequency Ablation and Endoscopic Esophageal Stenting for Undifferentiated Thyroid Cancer

We report a 69-year-old woman who received chemotherapy and radiation for thyroid tumor (undifferentiated cancer) after surgery in 1998. Chemotherapy was regularly repeated in order to avoid relapse. However, the tumor increased gradually, eventually causing dysphagia. Although we offered nutritional management through intravenous hyperalimentation or gastrostomy, she strongly preferred the oral intake of nutrition. Therefore, after obtaining her consent, we performed percutaneous radiofrequency ablation (RFA) for the tumor using a Cool-Tip needle, on April 2, 2003. The algorithm of RFA was 9min: 30 120 W, 12min: 50 110 W, 9min: 50 100 W. After 2 days, a covered stent was implanted to the esophagus, and oral intake was started. Although the operation for poorly differentiated thyroid cancer is controversial, we performed RFA and esophageal stenting to improve the patient’s QOL. We believe this is the first such case in the world.