Locally Advanced Thyroglossal Duct Cyst Carcinoma Presenting as a Neck Mass

Abstract

Thyroglossal duct cyst carcinoma is rare and occurs in just 1% of cases with thyroglossal duct cysts. It is not always possible to distinguish a thyroglossal cyst harboring malignancy from its benign counterparts unless biopsied, thus posing the dilemma. Currently there is no clear consensus on the optimal management of thyroglossal duct cyst carcinoma. Here we present the case of a 69-year-old female who presented with a midline neck mass and dysphagia and was found to have papillary thyroid cancer in the biopsy specimen of the neck mass. She underwent excision of the mass and the thyroglossal duct cyst along with total thyroidectomy; however, the thyroidectomy specimen showed no malignancy. Her lymph node mapping was negative and she is awaiting radioactive iodine treatment.

Ectopic thyroid with benign and malignant findings: A case series

“…Its most common form is PTC or its histological subtypes (75–85 % cases) [5,9,10,18]. Thyroglossal duct carcinoma is often diagnosed incidentally during histopathological examination of a resected cyst [12,13]. It may be due to residual ectopic thyroid tissue in the duct (>90 % cases) or it may arise from the epithelium of the cyst wall [11,12].…”

“…Thyroglossal duct carcinoma is often diagnosed incidentally during histopathological examination of a resected cyst [12,13]. It may be due to residual ectopic thyroid tissue in the duct (>90 % cases) or it may arise from the epithelium of the cyst wall [11,12]. CMV-PTC accounts for 0.2 % of all PTCs [14].…”

Thyroglossal duct cyst papillary thyroid cancer – the state of the art

“…within the TDC, it is difficult to calculate the frequency of TDCC in the general population [10][11][12]. Despite TDCs being very common in children and adolescents, carcinomas of the TDCs are rare in this group, and just over 30 cases have been diagnosed [7,13].…”

“…However, while TDCs have been reported more often in men, TDCCs occur predominantly in middle-aged women (with a 2:1 female-to-male ratio) [5,6]. In children, the mean age of presentation is 6 years [10].…”

“…Ectopic thyroid tissue may be localized in the thyroglossal duct remnants (in over 50-65% of all cysts), and in 1% of all patients, this is the only functioning thyroid tissue in the body [2,3,[6][7][8][9]. Most TDCs are benign tumors, however, 0.7-1.5% develop into carcinoma [10,11]. Since the first described case of TDCC in 1911, by Brentano, approximately 300 cases of such cancers have been reported so far.…”