Open AccessPalliative thyroidectomy in the setting of a metastatic renal cell carcinoma
Author(s) -
Arvind Krishnamurthy,
Suhail Deen,
Vijayalakshmi Ramshankar,
Urmila Majhi
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
indian journal of nuclear medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.261
H-Index - 13
eISSN - 0972-3919
pISSN - 0974-0244
DOI - 10.4103/0972-3919.142646
Subject(s) - medicine , renal cell carcinoma , thyroid , nephrectomy , thyroidectomy , differential diagnosis , thyroid carcinoma , metastatic carcinoma , pathology , radiology , carcinoma , kidney
A secondary neoplasm of the thyroid gland is a distinctly uncommon cause of thyroid enlargement. These tumors mimic primary thyroid gland tumors and often lead to diagnostic difficulties. We report an interesting case of secondary thyroid tumor coexisting with a micropapillary carcinoma in an elderly male patient following a radical nephrectomy done 15 years prior for a renal cell carcinoma (RCC). Interestingly, the previously described coincidental association of thyroid and pancreatic metastases in a metastatic RCC was also noted in our patient as was demonstrated in the positron emission tomography-computed tomography which was done as part of the metastatic workup. This association needs to be further explored as also the role of palliative thyroidectomy in the setting of a metastatic RCC. The possibility of metastatic RCC should be kept as a differential during the course of the evaluation of clear cell renal tumor of the thyroid gland.