Hypopharyngeal and parapharyngeal space metastasis of papillary thyroid carcinoma: A case report

Abstract

Background: Carcinoma of the thyroid gland is one of the most com- monly encountered endocrine malignancies. Papillary carcinoma is the most common histological type, and its spread is usually lymphatic. About 30-80% patients with papillary carcinoma develop lymphatic metastases. Case Report: We present here the case of a 70-year-old female patient who had undergone total thyroidectomy 10 years previously, with a histological diagnosis of papillary thyroid carcinoma. A neck dissec- tion was performed ten years after the primary operation due to a mass in the parapharyngeal space and hypopharynx. The mass was diag- nosed histologically as papillary thyroid cancer metastasis after the operation. Conclusion: Lymphatic and vascular metastases of papillary thyroid carcinoma separately to the parapharyngeal space and hypopharynx have rarely been reported. In our case, both hypopharyngeal and para- pharyngeal space involvement were presented, which is a very rare condition.