title: Recombinant human thyrotropin-aided radioiodine therapy in tracheal obstruction by an invading well-differentiated thyroid carcinoma.
abstract: Papillary thyroid carcinomas (PTCs) usually extend to lymph nodes in the neck and mediastinum. Rarely, they invade the neighboring upper airway anatomical structures. We report a 56-year-old woman who presented with symptoms of upper airway obstruction. Imaging studies revealed a lesion derived from the thyroid which invaded and obstructed the trachea, which appeared to be a highly differentiated PTC. Total thyroidectomy was performed, with removal of the endotracheal part of the mass along with the corresponding anterior tracheal rings. Two months later, a whole body I(131) scan after recombinant human thyroid-stimulating hormone (rh-TSH) administration was performed and revealed a residual mass in upper left thyroid lobe. Subsequently, 150 mCi I(131) were given following rh-TSH administration. Nine months later, there was no sign of residual tumor. This case is the first one reported in the literature regarding rh-TSH administration prior to RAI ablation in a PTC obstructing the trachea.
authors.affiliation: Department of Endocrinology-Diabetes, Panagia General Hospital, 22 Plastira Street, 55132 Thessaloniki, Greece.
authors.forename: Nickolaos
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Pontikides
authors.forename: Spyridon
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Karras
authors.forename: Antonios
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authors.lastname: Papagiannis
authors.forename: Athina
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authors.lastname: Kaprara
authors.forename: Panagiotis
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Anagnostis
authors.forename: George
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authors.lastname: Noussios
authors.forename: Argyrios
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authors.lastname: Doumas
authors.forename: Apostolos
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authors.lastname: Goropoulos
authors.forename: Ioannis
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authors.lastname: Iakovou
authors.forename: Georgios
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authors.lastname: Kotronis
authors.forename: Konstantinos
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authors.forename: Gerasimos
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authors.lastname: Krassas