Author(s)
Kevin Stavrides, MD
Jeffrey Goldstein, MD, DDS
Nicholas Purdy, DO
Thorsen Haugen, MD
Phillip K. Pellitteri, DO FACS
Affiliation(s)
Geisinger Health System;
Abstract:
Educational Objective:
At the conclusion of this presentation, the participants should be able to recognize the importance of simultaneous thyroid cancer diagnosis with that of head and neck cancer (HNC), and formulate a practical and oncologically sound protocol for managing the thyroid malignancy.
Objectives:
Synchronous thyroid cancer with head and neck cancer is very uncommon yet significant. Here we present illustrative clinical examples and offer a protocol for management.
Methods:
Medical record review of 3 index patient cases involving synchronous primary malignancies of the thyroid gland and head and neck, together with a review of the literature.
Cases:
Three patients had thyroid cancer diagnosed at various points in the management of head and neck cancer. In the first patient, metastatic cervical disease suspected of being of thyroid malignant origin was diagnosed as head and neck mucoepidermoid carcinoma. a distinctly unique finding. In the second patient, the thyroid malignancy was definitively diagnosed shortly following the multidisciplinary management of HPV related oropharyngeal squamous carcinoma. The third patient was diagnosed with thyroid malignancy on preoperative PET imaging for comprehensive neck surgery for HNC.
Conclusions:
Synchronous primary malignancies of the thyroid gland and head and neck are distinctly uncommon. There is no acknowledged consensus protocol for management of these simultaneous malignancies. Here we present recommendations for the management of thyroid cancer synchronous with HNC. These recommendations focus on prompt adequate treatment of both the HNC and the synchronous thyroid cancer in the appropriate patient population.