| Metastatic Melanoma Mimicking a Papillary Carcinoma of the Thyroid in Fine Needle Aspiration Cytology: A Case Report. |
| Young Ok Hong, Jae Hee Suh, Hee Jeong Cha, Hye Jeong Choi, Young Min Kim |
1Department of Pathology, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Ulsan University Hospital, Ulsan, Korea. ymkpath@uuh.ulsan.kr
2Department of Pathology, Asan Medical Center, Seoul, Korea. |
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| ABSTRACT |
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Metastasis to the thyroid gland is very rare in clinical practice. We recently encountered a 65-year-old woman who presented with a large thyroid nodule that mimicked the cytologic features of a papillary thyroid carcinoma on fine needle aspiration biopsy (FNAB). Although initially diagnosed as a papillary thyroid carcinoma, a thorough clinical work-up revealed multiple lesions in the bones, liver, and nasal cavity, which were confirmed as metastases of a malignant melanoma. Despite a thorough physical examination, however, the primary skin lesion could not be identified. Although FNAB shows a high degree of accuracy in diagnosing primary thyroid tumors, it is less accurate in diagnosing metastases to the thyroid gland. A thorough clinical history with appropriate immunohistochemical staining assays is necessary for the accurate diagnosis of metastatic malignant melanoma. |
| Key Words:
Malignant melanoma; Thyroid gland; Metastasis |
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