title: Unusual synchronous skeletal muscle and lung metastasis in papillary thyroid cancer: A case report and review of the literature.
abstract: Papillary thyroid cancer (PTC) frequently metastasizes to the cervical lymph region and less often to the lung and bone. Metastasis to the skeletal muscles from PTC is extremely rare, especially concurrent lung and skeletal muscle metastases. The present study reports the case of a 31-year-old man with synchronous metastasis to the skeletal muscle and lung from PTC, six years following total thyroidectomy and consecutive131Iodine treatments. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) revealed a 1.7×1.2×1.5 cm mass in the left gastrocnemius muscle, indicating a neurogenic tumor. The mass was subsequently resected and confirmed via histopathology to be metastatic PTC. We propose that, in the follow-up of patients with PTC, the measurable serum thyroglobulin level, whole body scan and other imaging modalities including MRI or positron emission tomography/computed tomography, must be closely monitored for potential distant metastases, particularly in cases of PTC with aggressive pathological behavior.
authors.affiliation: Department of Nuclear Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital, College of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310003, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Department of Nuclear Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital, College of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310003, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Lin-Fa
authors.initials: LF
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, The First Affiliated Hospital, College of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310003, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Xiu-Ming
authors.initials: XM
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Nuclear Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital, College of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310003, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Qin
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: Department of Nuclear Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital, College of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310003, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Nuclear Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital, College of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310003, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Wan-Wen
authors.initials: WW
authors.lastname: Weng
authors.affiliation: Positron Emission Tomography Center, The First Affiliated Hospital, College of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310003, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Meng-Jie
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Dong
keywords: lung metastasis; papillary thyroid cancer; skeletal muscle metastasis