Hypopharyngeal and Parapharyngeal Space Metastasis of Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma: A Case Report

El-Mourabit F

Published on: 2024-03-18

Abstract

Background: One of the endocrine cancers that is most frequently found is thyroid cancer. The most prevalent histological type of carcinoma is called papillary carcinoma, and it frequently spreads lymphaticly. Lymphatic metastases affect 30–80% of papillary cancer patients. While it is widely known that papillary thyroid cancer can infiltrate the larynx, trachea, and esophagus directly, reports of lymphatic and vascular metastases to the larynx and hypopharynx are very uncommon.

Case Report: We present here the case of a 71-year-old man who had undergone total thyroidectomy ten years previously, with a histological diagnosis of papillary thyroid carcinoma. A neck dissection was performed ten years after the primary operation due to a mass in the parapharyngeal space and hypopharynx. After surgery, the mass was diagnosed histologically as a metastasis of papillary thyroid cancer.

Conclusions: One of the most well-known characteristics of PCT is its sluggish and irregular behavior. Vascular transmission of PCT is uncommon; lymphatics are the usual route of dissemination. When it does, though, it usually affects soft tissue, the brain, the lungs, and the bones. Making treatment selections for advanced thyroid cancers is typically challenging, particularly if the tumor has progressed extra-nodally. The key to the management of such tumors is a prudent combination of radioablation and surgical clearance.