title: Ectopic thyroid tissue in the adrenal gland: report of a case.
abstract: Foci of ectopic thyroid tissue are uncommon. Most sites of thyroid ectopia are confined to the neck region. The presence of ectopic thyroid tissue outside the migration pathway of the primitive thyroid in other locations is exceptional. Given that any disease of the thyroid gland may also affect ectopic thyroid tissue, pathologists has to recognize benign or malignant conditions that may develop in the ectopic focus. We present the case of a 32-year-old woman with ectopic thyroid parenchyma in the adrenal gland. Clinically, postoperative thyroid ultrasound echography and computed tomography scans did not reveal any thyroid tumor. The ectopic tissue was a cyst bordered by mature follicular thyroid structures and was histologically benign, without the molecular alterations associated with malignant tumors of follicular cell derivation (BRAFV600E, N-RAS, H-RAS, K-RAS). Review of the literature reveals that adrenal ectopic thyroid tissue is nearly always cystic and has distinctive pathologic features.
authors.affiliation: AUSL Bologna Maggiore Hospital, Bologna, Italy gianpiero.casadei@ausl.bologna.it.
authors.forename: Gian Piero
authors.initials: GP
authors.lastname: Casadei
authors.affiliation: AUSL Bologna Maggiore Hospital, Bologna, Italy.
authors.forename: Claudia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Bertarelli
authors.affiliation: AUSL Bologna Maggiore Hospital, Bologna, Italy.
authors.forename: Eleonora
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Giorgini
authors.affiliation: AUSL Bologna Maggiore Hospital, Bologna, Italy.
authors.forename: Nadia
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Cremonini
authors.affiliation: Bellaria Hospital, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy.
authors.forename: Dario
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: de Biase
authors.affiliation: Bellaria Hospital, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy.
authors.forename: Giovanni
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Tallini
mesh_terms: D000307:Adrenal Gland Diseases / Q000473:pathology*; D000328:Adult; D002828:Choristoma / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D013961:Thyroid Gland
keywords: adrenal gland; ectopic thyroid tissue; thyroid