Anaplastic thyroid cancer historical perspective

Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]; Associate Editor(s)-in-Chief: Ammu Susheela, M.D. [2]

In 1811, the first thyroid cancer case was reported. Thyroid cancer was first described by William Stewart Halsted, an American surgeon in the late nineteenth century.

• The first case of thyroid cancer was described by William Stewart Halsted.^[1]
• In 1951, head and neck irradiation was demonstrated to cause thyroid cancer in children.

• In 1884, thyroidectomies were introduced to successfully treat thyroid disorders.
• Theodore Kocher (1841-1917) was considered an expert in thyroidectomy in Switzerland.
• Charles Horace Mayo was considered as an expert in thyroidectomies in United States.
• Murray discovered that patients with hypothyroidism respond well to injecting thyroid extracts to them.

• William Rehnquist, Chief Justice of the United States (1986-2005) passed away on September 3, 2005 from anaplastic thyroid cancer.