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Nonthyroid cancers that have spread to the thyroid are a rare cause of thyroid nodules
The background of the study. Few thyroid nodules are cancers, and among the latter, few are deposits of cancers arising in other organs. This study was done to determine the frequency of spread to the thyroid in patients with nonthyroid cancer.
How the study was done. Patients with nonthyroid cancers that had spread to the thyroid were identified from the records of two centers in Italy. The patients’ records, biopsies, and, if thyroid surgery was done, pathology were reviewed. The pathologic sections were stained with antibodies to both thyroid products (all were negative) and antibodies to antigens found in nonthyroid cancers.
The results of the study. During the study period, 18,105 thyroid operations were done; 2111 (12 percent) revealed cancer, of which 24 (1 percent) were nonthyroid cancers. During the same interval, 29,708 fine-needle thyroid aspiration biopsies were done; 1633 (5 percent) revealed cancer, of which 22 (1 percent) were nonthyroid cancers. Overall, 36 patients had a nonthyroid cancer in their thyroid gland.
The 36 patients with nonthyroid cancer in their thyroid included 19 women (53 percent) and 17 men (47 percent). The cancer in the thyroid was palpable in 26 of the patients (72 percent) and was detected by a radiologic procedure in 10 (28 percent).
Among the 36 patients with thyroid metastases, most had a lung cancer, esophageal cancer, breast cancer, kidney cancer, and laryngeal cancer.
The conclusions of the study. Cancers in the thyroid gland rarely originate outside the thyroid gland. When present, they are most likely to be cancer of the lungs, esophagus, breast, or kidneys.
The original article. Papi G, Fadda G, Corsello MM, Corrado S, Rossi ED, Radighieri E, Miraglia A, Carani C, Pontecorvi A. Metastases to the thyroid gland: prevalence, clinicopathological aspects and prognosis: a 10-year experience. Clin Endocrinol (Oxf) 2007;66:565-71.
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