Colorectal cancer metastasis to the thyroid: A case report and review of the literature

Oncol Lett. 2023 Oct 10;26(6):504. doi: 10.3892/ol.2023.14091. eCollection 2023 Dec.

Abstract

Metastatic thyroid cancer is rare. Here, the case of a patient with colon cancer that metastasized to the thyroid is described. The patient underwent radical rectal cancer surgery in August 2017 and received six cycles of chemotherapy with oxaliplatin and capecitabine postoperatively. On August 4, 2018, the patient was admitted to the hospital due to the discovery of thyroid nodules on ultrasound and carcinoembryonic antigen levels within the normal range. The biopsy from the fine needle aspiration suggested a malignant tumor. The patient underwent radical thyroid cancer surgery. Using intraoperative rapid frozen pathology, medullary carcinoma was diagnosed. Using postoperative routine pathology combined with immunohistochemistry results, thyroid metastasis from colorectal adenocarcinoma was diagnosed. After surgery, the patient regularly visited the outpatient clinic for chemotherapy with capecitabine. As of May 2023, the patient is still alive with no recurrence.

Keywords: clinical pathology; colorectal cancer; fine needle aspiration; median survival time; rapid pathology diagnosis; thyroid metastasis.

Publication types

  • Case Reports

Grants and funding

The present study was supported by a grant from the Project of the Science and Technology Bureau of Putuo District of Zhoushan City (grant no. 2021GY304).