Case reports of collision and composite carcinomas of the thyroid: an insight into their origin and clinical significance

Abstract Background Collision and composite carcinomas of the thyroid are extremely rare, and their clinical and biological characteristics are poorly understood. Case presentation The first case was a 41-year-old female patient with a right thyroid nodule. Pathological diagnosis was papillary thyro...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Tao Ma, Ruixiao Wang, Xu Zhou, Liqiang Liu, Aijing Pan, Hongmei Wang, Lingyan Huang
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: BMC 2023-08-01
Series:BMC Endocrine Disorders
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1186/s12902-023-01409-z
Description
Summary:Abstract Background Collision and composite carcinomas of the thyroid are extremely rare, and their clinical and biological characteristics are poorly understood. Case presentation The first case was a 41-year-old female patient with a right thyroid nodule. Pathological diagnosis was papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) and medullary thyroid carcinoma composite carcinoma. Surgical treatment was right thyroid lobectomy + left partial thyroidectomy + right central neck lymph node dissection. The second case was a 60-year-old female with bilateral thyroid nodules. Total thyroidectomy was performed, and the pathological diagnosis was thyroid collision carcinoma involving follicular thyroid carcinoma on the left side and PTC on the right side. Summary The clinical, histological and gene changes of collision and composite carcinomas of the thyroid are poorly described. With different biological invasion characteristics, the ideal treatment and the prognosis is currently unknown and individualized treatment is necessary. Conclusions It is recommended that in composite carcinoma, each cancer is evaluated and treated according to the most severe tumor. Collision carcinoma should be treated as two separate synchronous primary tumors. For both collision and composite carcinomas of the thyroid, the follow-up after treatment should be extensive.
ISSN:1472-6823