A 15-year-old Girl with a Lateral Neck Mass Turning Out to Be Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma-Lateral Ectopic Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma or Lymph Node Metastasis?
Marijke E.B. Kremer1, A. S. Paul van Trotsenburg2, Anton F. Engelsman3, Esther Edelenbos4, Arantza Farina-Sarasqueta5, Joost van Schuppen6, José C.C. Koppes6, Joep P.M Derikx1, Christiaan F. Mooij21Department of Pediatric Surgery, Emma Children’s Hospital, Amsterdam University Medical Centers, University of Amsterdam and VU University, Amsterdam, The Netherlands2Department of Pediatric Endocrinology, Emma Children’s Hospital, Amsterdam University Medical Centers, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
3Department of Surgery, Amsterdam University Medical Centers, University of Amsterdam and VU University, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
4Department of Pediatric Oncology, Emma Children’s Hospital, Amsterdam University Medical Centers, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
5Department of Pathology, Amsterdam University Medical Centers, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
6Department of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, Amsterdam University Medical Centers, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Lateral neck lesions in children are common and involve various infectious or inflammatory etiologies as well as embryological remnants such as branchial cleft cysts.
Although unusual, ectopic thyroid tissue can also present as a lateral neck mass. Here, we present an unusual case of a 15-year-old girl treated for an asymptomatic lateral neck mass that after surgical removal was found to be papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC). However, after removal of the thyroid gland, no primary thyroid tumor was found. The question arose whether the lateral neck lesion was a lymph node metastasis without identifiable primary tumor (at histological evaluation) or rather malignant degeneration of ectopic thyroid tissue. Total thyroidectomy was performed with postoperative adjuvant radioactive iodine ablation. Even though PTC in a lateral neck mass without a primary thyroid tumor has been described previously, pediatric cases have not been reported. In this report we share our experience on diagnosis, treatment and follow-up, and review the existing literature.
Manuscript Language: English
