Hypopharyngeal and parapharyngeal space metastasis of papillary thyroid carcinoma: a case report.

BACKGROUND Carcinoma of the thyroid gland is one of the most commonly encountered endocrine malignancies. Papillary carcinoma is the most common histological type, and its spread is usually lymphatic. About 30-80% patients with papillary carcinoma develop lymphatic metastases. CASE REPORT We present here the case of a 70-year-old female patient who had undergone total thyroidectomy 10 years previously, with a histological diagnosis of papillary thyroid carcinoma. A neck dissection was performed ten years after the primary operation due to a mass in the parapharyngeal space and hypopharynx. The mass was diagnosed histologically as papillary thyroid cancer metastasis after the operation. CONCLUSION Lymphatic and vascular metastases of papillary thyroid carcinoma separately to the parapharyngeal space and hypopharynx have rarely been reported. In our case, both hypopharyngeal and parapharyngeal space involvement were presented, which is a very rare condition.