갑상선으로 전이된 폐 선암종 1예

A Case of Thyroid Metastasis from Pulmonary Adenocarcinoma

Thyroid cancer is the most common endocrine malignancy and it is increasing throughout the world, but metastasis to the thyroid gland is uncommon. The overall incidence varies from 1.25% in unselected autopsy series to 24% in autopsy of patients with widespread malignant neoplasms. Although detection of metastasis to the thyroid gland often indicates a poor prognosis, aggressive surgical and medical therapy may be effective for a small percentage of patients. There are many reports that have described a secondary thyroid cancer arising from other primary sites. The kidney is the most common site, followed by lung, breast, esophagus and uterus. Although some patients with metastatic disease to the thyroid present with symptoms such as dysphagia, stridor, hoarseness or a palpable neck mass, most of the patients are asymptomatic at presentation. In this paper, we report on a female patient with thyroid metastasis from pulmonary adenocarcinoma and we review the relevant literature. (Korean J Endocrine Surg 2011;11:179-181)