Anaplastic thyroid cancer is one of the most prognostically unfavorable tumors. This disadvantage traditionally consisted of a rapid increase in the size of the primary tumor with a tendency to the development of asphyxia and the rapid appearance of distant metastases, as well as a poor response to the recommended treatment methods. The result of many years of efforts by oncologists around the world were several treatment regimens, including an ideal amount of surgical intervention, chemotherapy and radiation therapy, but the effectiveness of this treatment, as well as the patient’s life expectancy after it, could not be called satisfactory. Improving the understanding of the molecular genetic characteristics of tumors, including anaplastic thyroid cancer, provided us with information on two possible features of the genetic apparatus of tumor cells that can have clinical significance: V600E mutations in the BRAF gene and fusion of NTRK genes. The clinical example described in this article is probably the first Russian illustration of the effectiveness of anti-BRAF therapy in a patient with anaplastic thyroid cancer. From our point of view, the benefit of this example is not only to demonstrate the effectiveness of modern targeted therapy, but also the need not to abandon other treatment methods, in this case, radiation therapy to the area of the primary tumor (and by analogy with this, surgical removal of the thyroid tumor glands in case of its resectability).

Introduction. Neoadjuvant chemotherapy (nact) is a potential alternative to chemoradiation therapy (crt) for rectal cancer and may allow early prevention of distant metastasis.Objective: to study the safety and efficacy of nact for patients with rectal cancer without damage to the mesorectal fascia.Material and methods. From 2016 to 2019, patients with cancer of the upper ampullar (сmrt2-t4an+m0, cmrt4an0m0), medium ampullar (cmrt3сn0m0, cmrt2n+m0) rectal regions were included in the pilot prospective study. All patients underwent nact according to the capox 4 scheme. Evaluation of the effect was carried out on the basis of mri of the small pelvis. In the case of regression or stabilization, surgery was performed, and in the case of progression, crt was followed by surgery. After surgery, all patients were scheduled for adjuvant chemotherapy for a total duration of 6 months. The primary endpoint was the rate of pathological complete response (mandard trg 1). Secondary endpoints included disease progression, toxicity (nci-ctc v. 5.0), postoperative complications (clavien-dindo), chemotherapy regimen, and long-term treatment outcomes.Results. 136 patients were included into the study. Of 130 (11 %) patients, who underwent only nact prior to surgery, 15 had pathological complete response. 99 patients (72.8 %) received a full course of chemotherapy for 6 months (nact + adjuvant pct). 6 (4.3 %) patients after neoadjuvant chemotherapy were treated with crt, 5 (3.67 %) of them due to local progression according to mri data, 1 (0.7 %) due to grade 3 toxicity during 1 course of pct and inability to continue chemotherapy treatment plan. Radiation therapy resulted in partial tumor regression in all patients. Systemic progression was not observed in any patient. Grade iii–iv toxicity was observed in 7 (5.1 %) patients, including bronchospasm (n=2, 1.4 %), thrombocytopenia (n=1, 0.7 %), neutropenia (n=1, 0.7 %), peripheral neuropathy (n=1, 0.7 %), cardiotoxicity (n=1, 0.7 %), diarrhea (n=1, 0.7 %). Grade v toxicity (acute myocardial infarction) was observed in 1 (0.7 %) patient. R0 resection was performed in all cases. Grade iiia postoperative complications occurred in 6 (4.4 %) patients, iiib complications in 5 (3.7 %) patients, and death due to sepsis after postoperative pneumonia in 1 (0.7 %) patient. The frequency of anastomotic leak was 3.6 % (n=5). The median follow-up was 31.4 months, the overall survival (os) and disease-free survival (dfs) rates were 94 % and 92.8 %.Conclusion. Neoadjuvant chemotherapy is a promising treatment option for rectal cancer patients with negative prognostic factors.