Table 2.
Reports of metastases of solid malignancies to the thyroid gland associated with thyroiditis and hyperthyroidism.
| Article Number | Author, Year | Number of patients | Patient Age (years)/ Gender (M/F) | Malignancy (Newly diagnosed [new] or known pre-existing [known]) | Hyperthyroidism work-up | Cytology/pathology, and follow up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tibaldi, 1986 | 1 | 39M | Lung (known) | Thyroid pain and swelling, extremely elevated thyroid hormone, I-125 uptake < 1% | Aspiration of thyroid showed cells similar to primary lung cancer. Patient’s thyroid hormone levels later declined to hypothyroid range |
| 2 | Kung, 1991 | 1 | 81F | Lung (known) | Painful swelling of thyroid gland swelling, TSH < 0.05, marked elevation of thyroid hormone and thyroglobulin | Metastatic lung cancer found at thyroidectomy |
| 3 | Miyakawa, 2001 | 1 | 50F | Lung (known) | Thyroid enlarged, severe thyrotoxicosis based on TFTs (TSH < 0.05, markedly elevated thyroid hormones), I-123 uptake < 4% | Aspiration of thyroid showed cells similar to primary lung cancer. Patient later became hypothyroid |
| 4 | Shirahama, 2008 | 1 | 46F | Lung (new) | Painful thyroid swelling, laboratory diagnosis showing hyperthyroidism TSH 0.03, elevated thyroid hormones) | Aspiration showed squamous cell carcinoma. Thyroid function normalized after chemotherapy |
| 5 | Wirtz, 2008 | 1 | 54M | Lung (new) | Painful thyroid gland swelling and hyperthyroidism (TSH < 0.01, elevated thyroid hormone) | Patient become hypothyroid. Biopsy showed metastatic lung cancer. Thyroid function improved after chemotherapy |
| 6 | Edmonds, 1978 | 1 | 25F | Breast (new) | Diffuse, firm goiter, TFTs showing undetectable TSH and elevated thyroid hormones, 2 and 24 hr I-131 uptake < 2% | Diffuse infiltration of thyroid with adenocarcinoma found after thyroidectomy |
| 7 | Trokoudes, 1978 (also Rosen, 1978) | 1 | 51F | Breast (known) | Rapidly enlarging thyroid, thyroid hormones upper normal, I-131 uptake 1%, further enlargement of thyroid and later became hypothyroid | Metastatic breast cancer found at time of sub-total lobectomy |
| 8 | Koev, 1987 | 1 | 52F | Breast (known) | Hyperthyroidism (described as tumor invasion of thyroid causing hyperthyroidism) | |
| 9 | Ferrara, 1997 | 1 | 58F | Breast (known) | Clinical presentation consistent with thyroiditis, elevated thyroglobulin | Immunohistochemistry of aspirated cells consistent with breast cancer |
| 10 | Skowrońska-Jóźwiak, 2010 | 2 | Post-menopausal F | Breast (1 new, 1 known) | Hyperthyroidism and subclinical hyperthyroidism respectively, goiter, negative thyroid antibodies | Biopsy of the thyroid showing cells consistent with metastatic breast cancer |
| 11 | De Ridder, 2003 | 2 | Not documented | Not clearly reported (breast, head & neck or renal cell carcinoma) (not documented) | TFTs showing hyperthyroidism | |
| 12 | Bacourt, 1980 | 1 | 65M | Renal cell carcinoma (known) | Presented with hyperthyroidism | |
| 13 | Costa, 2017 | 1 | 85F | Melanoma (new) | Subclinical hyperthyroidism, pre-existing multinodular goiter | Multiple melanoma tumor foci were found at the time of thyroidectomy, in addition to multinodular goiter |
| 14 | Eriksson, 1977 | 1 | 54M | Pancreatic (known) | Goiter and hyperthyroidism,I-131 uptake 0.6% | Biopsy of thyroid neoplastic cells. Thyroid function trended to normal. Thyroid completely infiltrated by pancreatic cancer at autopsy |
| 15 | Kim, 2007 | 1 | 61F | Rectal (known) | Firm, tender goiter, hyperthyroidism TSH 0.05), negative thyroid antibodies | Biopsy revealed malignant cells similar to original rectal cancer. Patient later became hypothyroid requiring levothyroxine |
| 16 | Ferrozzi, 1997 | 1 | ? | Leiomyosarcoma (?) | Mass within the thyroid gland, hyperthyroidism | Biopsy showed metastatic leiomyosarcoma, patient with lung metastases also |
| 17 | Watts, 1988 | 1 | 35F | Unknown primary (known) | Firm, tender goiter, hyperthyroidism (low TSH and elevated thyroid hormones), negative thyroid antibodies | Thyroid aspiration showed adenocarcinoma. Patient became hypothyroid requiring levothyroxine |
Abbreviations: TSH = thyroid stimulating hormone, TFTs = thyroid function tests, I-123 = iodine I-123, I-125 = iodine I-125, I-131 = iodine-131.