Papillary carcinoma arising in a thyroglossal duct cyst with associated microcarcinoma of the thyroid and without cervical lymph node metastasis: a case report

This is a case report of a 44-year-old woman with papillary carcinoma of a thyroglossal duct cyst.

A 44 year-old woman presented to the otolaryngology outpatient clinic with an asymptomatic anterior midline neck mass. A cervical ultrasound showed a lesion which appeared to be a thyroglossal duct cyst and surgical resection using Sistrunk's procedure was performed. The histopathologic diagnosis showed papillary carcinoma evolving from a thyroglossal duct cyst, confined to the thyroglossal cyst, with a tumor diameter of 2 cm. The patient then underwent total thyroidectomy and bilateral neck dissection. The final pathology reported an 8 mm papillary cancer in the left lobe of the thyroid without any metastasis to the cervical lymph nodes. The patient was treated with radioactive iodide and thyroid suppresion therapy was given as adjuvant treatment. The patient has been following for two years without any metastasis.

Malignancy within a thyroglossal duct cyst is very rare but should be considered in the differential diagnosis of a midline neck mass.