Title
Metastatic breast carcinoma involving the thyroid gland diagnosed by fine-needle aspiration: a case report
UMMS Affiliation
Department of Pathology
Date
7-12-2005
Document Type
Article
Medical Subject Headings
Biopsy, Fine-Needle; Breast Neoplasms; *Carcinoma, Ductal, Breast; Female; Humans; Middle Aged; Neoplasm Metastasis; Thyroid Gland; Thyroid Neoplasms
Disciplines
Pathology
Abstract
Secondary involvement of the thyroid gland from a remote primary malignancy is uncommon. The distinction of metastatic carcinoma (MC) or sarcoma from a primary thyroid malignancy is important because the treatment is different. We discuss a case of a 64-yr-old female with a history of breast carcinoma, who presented with pain and swelling in her neck 5 yrs after being diagnosed with breast cancer. She had undergone mastectomy with subsequent chemotherapy and radiation for infiltrating mammary carcinoma. During the 5-yr interval, she had been free of clinically evident metastatic disease. Subsequent work-up revealed two distinct nodules in the left lobe of her thyroid gland as well as a subcutaneous mass in her right shoulder. A fine-needle aspiration (FNA) of the larger thyroid nodule showed malignant epithelial cells with features consistent with breast carcinoma in a background of benign thyroid epithelial cells and colloid. The case was signed out as metastatic breast carcinoma. Subsequent FNA and biopsy of her right shoulder lesion also revealed metastatic breast carcinoma with similar morphology to the material in the thyroid FNA.
Rights and Permissions
Citation: Diagn Cytopathol. 2005 Aug;33(2):110-5. Link to article on publisher's site