Benign-Appearing Thyroid Follicles in Cervical Lymph Nodes: A Report of 3 Cases and a Review of the Literature

Thyroid carcinoma tissue is frequently found in cervical lymph nodes following metastasis of thyroid, and particularly, thyroid papillary carcinoma. However, thyroid follicles without any malignant characteristics also are frequently detected in cervical lymph nodes. The reasons for the existence of “benign thyroid tissue” in lymph nodes are presently not understood. We present 3 cases of benign-appearing thyroid follicles in cervical lymph nodes. All patients underwent thyroidectomy and a central neck dissection after discovery of thyroid nodules by ultrasonography. The intraoperative frozen pathology and postoperative pathology of the 3 cases demonstrated that the lymph nodes contained thyroid follicles without any malignant features, and that the thyroid glands only displayed benign diseases, such as nodular goiter and thyroiditis. The patients remained disease-free for 1 to 6 months without evidence of abnormal cervical lymph nodes at the latest follow-up. The incidence of benign-appearing thyroid follicles in cervical lymph nodes is high.