The majority of patients with anaplastic thyroid carcinoma will achieve local tumour control with a combination of pre- and postoperative chemotherapy and radiotherapy. A few patients may even be cured with this regime. Chemotherapy alone for advanced thyroid carcinoma cannot, however, be routinely recommended. The chemotherapeutic agents in current use are discussed. Multimodality treatment remains the treatment of choice for undifferentiated thyroid carcinoma.