Ms. Lin, 38, from Fuzhou, Fujian
Always felt a foreign body sensation in the neck
The symptoms gradually worsened
Tossed and searched for many times
I didn’t expect it to be this kind of thyroid cancer!
Woman’s neck discomfort
Heterotopic thyroid malignant tumor was found out
Ms. Lin, 38 years old from Fuzhou, suddenly developed a foreign body sensation in the neck, symptoms for 2 months Gradually worsened. During this period, he went to many hospitals, and a neck tumor was found during examination. Finally, he was transferred to Mengchao Hepatobiliary Hospital of Fujian Medical University.
Liu Chunsheng, Deputy Chief Physician of the Department of Nail, Papillary and Neck Surgery in this hospital, initially considered thyroglossal duct cyst through thyroid color Doppler ultrasound and neck CT examination.
In order to clarify the cause, Deputy Director Liu Chunsheng arranged for him to be hospitalized, and under general anesthesia, “thyroid tongue” was implemented. Ductal cyst resection + partial hyoidectomy”. Based on pathological findings, it was finally determined that this was a rare ectopic thyroid malignancy (papillary carcinoma).
According to statistics, the prevalence of ectopic thyroid is 1:100,000 to 1:300,000, and ectopic thyroid cancer is even rarer, accounting for about 0.3% to 0.5% of the incidence of thyroid cancer. More commonly, about 90% of ectopic thyroid glands are located at the base of the tongue.
Occurring at the base of the tongue can manifest as foreign body sensation in the pharynx, dysphagia, and dyspnea. The ectopic thyroid in the front and middle of the neck is mostly asymptomatic, and when it is larger, there may be symptoms of compression. Ms. Lin has a foreign body sensation in the neck, a typical clinical manifestation.
It is difficult to distinguish between true and false, and pathological diagnosis is the magic weapon to distinguish
“It is difficult to distinguish a thyroglossal cyst from an ectopic thyroid in the neck, and an ectopic thyroid is too rare. , This is also my first contact.” Deputy Director Liu Chunsheng introduced that thyroglossal duct cyst is a common congenital disease of the neck, often manifested as a mass in the front and middle of the neck that moves up and down with swallowing, similar to Ms. Lin’s performance.
Because the incidence of thyroglossal duct cyst is more common than that of ectopic thyroid, it is easy to be directly misdiagnosed as thyroglossal duct cyst.
Ms. Lin’s condition was initially considered to be a thyroglossal duct cyst, ignoring the characteristic sonographic image of a hyperechoic area indicated by ultrasound. At the same time, color Doppler ultrasound indicated that there was no obvious blood flow in the mass The signal is also somewhat misleading, so the possibility of ectopic thyroid cancer was not considered.
Treatment of ectopic thyroid cancer is primarily based on surgical resection, as ectopic thyroid cancer is usually only diagnosed after surgical resection of the lesion.
Ms. Lin’s follow-up and re-examination for more than half a year after the operation showed no abnormality.
So, timely detection is the key,
Neck discomfort may seem like a small problem,
For us, it is still not to be taken lightly!
Source: Fujian Health News All Media Reporter: Zhang Shuai