An Incidental Finding of Concomitant Medullary Thyroid Carcinoma and Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma: A Case Report

Cureus. 2024 Nov 7;16(11):e73202. doi: 10.7759/cureus.73202. eCollection 2024 Nov.

Abstract

Concomitant medullary thyroid carcinoma and papillary thyroid carcinoma in the thyroid gland are rare; however, the incidence is increasing. Here, we present the case of a 77-year-old male who was incidentally found to have thyroid nodules after a road traffic accident. Fine-needle aspiration revealed two inconclusive Bethesda classifications: follicular neoplasm and unsatisfactory. The diagnosis of concomitant medullary thyroid carcinoma and papillary thyroid carcinoma was later confirmed by histopathology results after total thyroidectomy. The selected treatment was a total thyroidectomy in addition to radioactive iodine later on due to complications of invasion of the trachea. This case focuses on the possibility of having multiple types of carcinoma in a single thyroid gland.

Keywords: fine-needle aspiration; medullary thyroid carcinoma; papillary thyroid carcinoma; thyroid cancer; thyroid nodule.

Publication types

  • Case Reports