Isolated metastatic papillary thyroid carcinoma masquerading as parapharyngeal space paraganglioma

Isolated metastatic deposits of papillary thyroid carcinoma to the parapharyngeal space are rare. Herein, we describe the case of a young woman who presented with a right-sided oropharyngeal mass that was initially diagnosed as a parapharyngeal space paraganglioma. The patient opted for conservative...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Singapore medical journal 2014-03, Vol.55 (3), p.e42-e45
Main Authors: Sharma, Suresh Chandra, Sagar, Prem, Kumar, Rajeev, Durgapal, Prashant
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Carcinoma - diagnosis
Carcinoma - diagnostic imaging
Carcinoma - surgery
Carcinoma, Papillary
Case Report
Diagnosis, Differential
Diagnostic Errors
Female
Humans
Neoplasm Metastasis
Paraganglioma - diagnosis
Paraganglioma - diagnostic imaging
Paraganglioma - surgery
Pharyngeal Neoplasms - diagnosis
Pharyngeal Neoplasms - diagnostic imaging
Pharyngeal Neoplasms - surgery
Thyroid Cancer, Papillary
Thyroid Neoplasms - diagnosis
Thyroid Neoplasms - diagnostic imaging
Thyroid Neoplasms - surgery
Thyroidectomy
Tomography, X-Ray Computed
Treatment Outcome
Whole Body Imaging
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Isolated metastatic deposits of papillary thyroid carcinoma to the parapharyngeal space are rare. Herein, we describe the case of a young woman who presented with a right-sided oropharyngeal mass that was initially diagnosed as a parapharyngeal space paraganglioma. The patient opted for conservative treatment as she was asymptomatic and wished to avoid the risk of neurovascular morbidity associated with surgery. After 20 years, the patient sought treatment again for the oropharyngeal mass, which had progressively increased in size and was causing difficulty in swallowing. Repeat imaging of the affected area revealed that the mass had increased significantly in size; it also revealed the presence of a previously absent small lesion in the right lobe of the thyroid. Excision of the parapharyngeal space tumour and near-total thyroidectomy were performed; the excised specimens showed features of the follicular variant of papillary thyroid carcinoma. As papillary thyroid carcinoma that metastasises to the parapharyngeal space can masquerade as a paraganglioma, clinicians should bear in mind that an isolated metastatic deposit in the parapharyngeal space could be the first sign of occult papillary thyroid carcinoma.
ISSN:0037-5675
DOI:10.11622/smedj.2013258