Table 1. Review of literature on breast metastasis from follicular thyroid carcinoma including the present study.
| Reference | Age (years) | Sex | Metastases elsewhere | Time interval between primary and metastatic diagnosis | Breast imaging findings | Treatment and outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chisholm et al. [1980] (4) |
75 | Female | Neck (lymph nodes) and lungs | 9 years | Xeromammogram: right breast, upper inner quadrant, mass measuring 40 mm × 50 mm | Resection of the thyroid mass, a modified left neck dissection and a simple mastectomy, radioiodine therapy, replacement therapy with levothyroxine; 6 months later, disappearance of lung metastasis and improvement of symptoms; CR |
| Ascani et al. [1994] (5) | 57 | Female | No | 15 years | Ultrasound and mammography: left breast, upper outer quadrant, nodule measuring 20 mm with ill-defined margins, no microcalcifications | Thyroidectomy, excision of the breast nodule, radioiodine therapy, and postoperative radiotherapy; no evidence of recurrent disease at 10 months follow-up; CR |
| Arslan et al. [2014] (6) | 57 | Female | Lungs and bones | 26 months | Mammography: left breast, mass lesion measuring 25 mm, no calcifications | Total thyroidectomy, radioiodine therapy, adriamycin chemotherapy, surgical excision of breast metastasis, zoledronic acid, supportive care; after 12 months following surgery to the breast she had no recurrent lesions either in the breast or other solid organs, and was on supportive care; SD |
| Candanedo-Gonzalez et al. [2015] (7) | 59 | Female | Bones | 1 year | CT chest (without contrast): left breast, deep plane under sternum, mass measuring 60 mm × 50 mm | The patient received radiotherapy for 3 months without response; PD |
| Tanriverdi et al. [2015] (8) |
68 | Female | Lungs, bones, and mediastinal lymph nodes | 1 year | PET/CT: left breast, superior interior quadrant, mass measuring 25 mm × 18 mm, increased metabolic activity, no micro-calcifications | Total thyroidectomy, palliative radiotherapy to vertebrae and sacrum, referred to nuclear medicine department for radioiodine therapy; no follow-up information |
| Jain et al. [2021] (9) | 55 | Female | Right lung, bones, mediastinal lymph nodes, and spleen | 24 years | Mammography and PET/CT: right breast parenchymal lesion, non-iodine avid on radioiodine scan, FDG-avid | Radioiodine therapy for iodine-avid metastatic disease; breast lesion remained radioiodine refractory; the patient may have a poor prognosis |
| Ertürk et al. [2022] (10) | 33 | Female | Lungs and bones | 17 years | PET/CT: right breast, upper-middle quadrant, nodular lesion measuring 11 mm × 10 mm, increased 18F-FDG uptake | Left neck region operation and right lumpectomy for breast lesion, followed by 200 mCi posttreatment I-131 whole-body scan; 13 months after treatment, thyroglobulin levels decreased; PR |
| Taha et al. [2022] (11) | 90 | Female | Skin and lung (location unspecified) |
12 years | Mammogram and ultrasound: left breast, upper outer quadrant, asymmetric round lesion measuring 8 mm in diameter | Core biopsy confirmed metastatic follicular carcinoma of the thyroid, TSH suppressive therapy, patient declined further intervention; PD |
| This report | 64 | Female | Right lung | 17 years | Ultrasound, mammography and PET/CT: left breast, upper internal quadrant, irregular nodule measuring 31 mm × 23 mm, with calcifications, increased FDG uptake | Total thyroidectomy, left segmental mastectomy, 3 cycles of radioiodine therapy and TSH suppressive therapy; CR of the recurrent FTC lesion and breast metastasis |
CT, computed tomography; PET, positron emission tomography; FDG, fluorodeoxyglucose; FTC, follicular thyroid carcinoma; CR, complete response; SD, stable disease; PD, progressive disease; PR, partial response; TSH, thyroid stimulating hormone.