Gynecological malignancy mimicking a thyroid lymph node metastasis

We present the case of a 69-year-old woman who attended the Endocrinology Unit of Modena for a suspicious lymph node in the left cervical compartment discovered during the follow-up of a recurrent gynecological malignancy. At neck ultrasonography, a thyroid goiter was detected, and the further cytol...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Simone Pederzoli, Giorgia Spaggiari, Giuditta Bernardelli, Francesco Mattioli, Cinzia Baldessari, Antonino Maiorana, Vincenzo Rochira, Daniele Santi
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Bioscientifica 2021-01-01
Series:Endocrinology, Diabetes & Metabolism Case Reports
Online Access:https://edm.bioscientifica.com/view/journals/edm/2021/1/EDM20-0055.xml
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Summary:We present the case of a 69-year-old woman who attended the Endocrinology Unit of Modena for a suspicious lymph node in the left cervical compartment discovered during the follow-up of a recurrent gynecological malignancy. At neck ultrasonography, a thyroid goiter was detected, and the further cytological examination was inconclusive for thyroid nodule and compatible with a localization of an adenocarcinoma with papillary architecture for the lymph node. The histological examination after a left neck dissection confirmed the presence of an intracapsular metastasis of a papillary carcinoma immunohistochemically focally positive for thyroid transcription factor 1 and paired box 8 and negative for thyroglobulin. Subsequently, in the suspicion of a thyroid primitiveness, a total thyroidectomy was performed, revealing an intraparenchymal follicular variant of papillary thyroid carcinoma of 2 mm in the right lobe. During the follow-up, the appearance of a suspected cervical metastatic lesion led to another neck dissection, histologically compatible with a papillary carcinoma localization, immunohistochemically focally positive for thyroid transcription factor 1 and paired box 8, and negative for thyroglobulin. The histological revision of surgical specimens suggests the cervical recurrence of the prior gynecological cancer, rather than a thyroid carcinoma metastasis. The case described shows how carefully the cytological, histological and immunoistochemical results must be evaluated in oncological management, considering the whole patient’s history.
ISSN:2052-0573
2052-0573