Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Upper Aerodigestive Tract Associated With WellDifferentiated Carcinoma of the Thyroid Gland

Abstract

The association of squamous cell carcinoma of the upper aerodigestive tract with well‐differentiated thyroid carcinomas has rarely been reported in the literature. We report 10 cases illustrating this occurrence. In eight cases, the thyroid carcinoma was discovered accidentally on histological examination of a single neck node, a neck node dissection specimen, an unexpectedly found thyroid nodule, or a systematically resected thyroid lobe, all during surgical treatment of an upper aerodigestive tract carcinoma. In the other two cases, metastatic thyroid neck nodes appeared during the follow‐up of a patient with an upper aerodigestive tract carcinoma. No case of upper aerodigestive tract carcinomas was found during the follow‐up of thyroid cancer patients. In most cases, adequate thyroid cancer surgery was performed simultaneously or later. Prognosis was essentially determined by the upper aerodigestive tract cancer.

Collision metastasis of squamous carcinoma of the oral tongue and incidental thyroid papillary carcinoma to a single cervical lymph node

“…1 Occult thyroid papillary carcinoma (TPC) is not uncommon and may occur in 1%-10% of the population with a 6%-35% incidence rate based on autopsy studies. 9 Proper treatment of the thyroid gland is debatable when metastatic TPC is incidentally detected during neck dissection for the treatment of primary index SCC of the oral tongue.…”

Incidental Thyroid Cancer Found during Surgery for Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma

“…4,16 Several retrospective studies or small case series of occult thyroid cancer in neck dissections have since been reported, bringing the total number of reported cases to more than 150 patients, including our study. [3][4][5][6][16][17][18][26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33] Recurrences of thyroid cancer in these studies have been almost nonexistent, despite the fact that most patients presented with lateral neck disease but were not managed with total thryoidectomy. In fact, to date, there appears to be only 1 report in the literature of a recurrence of a thyroid cancer incidentally discovered during neck dissection.…”

“…In fact, to date, there appears to be only 1 report in the literature of a recurrence of a thyroid cancer incidentally discovered during neck dissection. 28 Some groups have proposed that because thyroid tissue found in the cervical nodes may be heterotopic and not necessarily metastatic, further therapy may not be necessary. 5,6,26 Other groups have suggested that even if thyroid cancer is present in the cervical nodes, the poor prognosis of the head and neck cancer should drive the management, and any further treatment of the incidental thyroid cancer is unlikely to be necessary.…”

Thyroid Carcinomas Found Incidentally in the Cervical Lymph Nodes: Do They Arise From Heterotopic Thyroid Tissues?

“…[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10] Most authors of these reports insisted that thyroid carcinomas of the lymph nodes were metastatic. In fact, small thyroid carcinomas (occult carcinomas) were detected not only in cervical lymph nodes but also in the thyroid glands obtained from surgically removed tissues and autopsied bodies.…”