Primary papillary carcinoma in a thyroglossal duct cyst: A case report

Background: Thyroglossal duct cyst(TDC)is the most common congenital disorder of the thyroid gland. Seventy five percent of midline neck masses in children are (TDC). Occurrence of malignancy in (TDC) is very rare event, and include 1% of all cases of (TDC). Here in this report, we describe a rare case of primary papillary carcinoma which arises in a (TDC).

Case report: Our case is a 42-year-old woman who presented with a hard painless solid and cystic mass in front of the neck above of thyroid cartilage. After initial physical examination and ultrasonography, the mass identified. Radiologist performed a core needle biopsy of the cyst and mass which show a papillary cell carcinoma. The patient underwent near total thyroidectomy, excision of lymph node and surgical excision of the thyroglossal duct cyst (the Sistrunk's procedure). Histopathology of the specimen revealed a thyroglossal duct cyst which showed a primary invasive papillary carcinoma that infiltrated the cyst wall. The thyroid gland was normal, cervical lymph node was not involved.

Conclusions: Primary papillary carcinoma of thyroglossal duct cyst is a rare disease which presents in patients with cystic midline neck masses. Surgery and radical excision is the optimal patient management with radioactive iodine therapy which improve the survival.