Thyrotoxicosis can occur in the setting of differentiated thyroid cancer due to functioning metastases. Here, we report a case of a 63 year old woman with papillary carcinoma thyroid who underwent total thyroidectomy and defaulted for further scheduled treatment with high dose radioactive iodine therapy. 2 years after total thyroidectomy, she presented with signs and symptoms of thyrotoxicosis and a scalp swelling on the right side of frontal region. Excision biopsy revealed metastatic deposits of papillary carcinoma thyroid. Even after withdrawal of thyroxine, her serum thyrotropin did not rise and thyroglobulin levels were high, raising the suspicion of high volume tumour burden. I-131 whole body scan was done and it revealed radio iodine avid cervical lymph nodes along with functioning lung and skeletal metastases.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.