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Medullary carcinoma of thyroid metastasis to breast: A cytological experience
Author(s) -
Devi C. Aparna,
Stephen S Norton,
Gochhait Debasis,
Shanmugam D,
Dharanipragada Kadambari,
Siddaraju Neelaiah,
Singh Divya
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
diagnostic cytopathology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.417
H-Index - 65
eISSN - 1097-0339
pISSN - 8755-1039
DOI - 10.1002/dc.24342
Subject(s) - medicine , malignancy , medullary carcinoma , metastasis , thyroid carcinoma , medullary cavity , thyroid , metastatic carcinoma , pathology , breast carcinoma , carcinoma , radiology , calcitonin , cancer , breast cancer
Abstract Medullary carcinoma of thyroid is a relatively uncommon malignancy, which can be sporadic and syndromic in nature. It commonly spreads to regional lymph nodes followed by spreading to distant sites. Breast is an uncommon site of metastasis of this malignancy. Our case is a 38‐year‐old woman married parous woman presenting to the outpatient department with complaints of lump in both the breasts. Fine‐needle aspiration (FNA) was attempted, which revealed a malignancy more suggestive of a metastasis, which was confirmed on CT scan. A detailed history revealed that the patient is a known case of medullary carcinoma of thyroid. The report was given as metastatic medullary carcinoma to the breast after confirming with a calcitonin immunostain. Given the versatility of primary lesions in the breast, minimally invasive FNA cytology (FNAC) technique with adequate sampling helps in identifying metastatic lesions. Differentiating primary from metastatic lesions changes the course of management to the patient. Metastatic lesions should always be kept in mind in the occurrence of known malignancies, however rare the site of occurrence may be. Morphological clues and immunohistochemical work up aid in arriving at correct diagnosis.