Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma Metastasis to the Lumbar Spine Masquerading as a Schmorl's Node.
A Schmorl's node is a common incidental finding encountered during radiologic imaging. Despite the vertebral body being a common site of metastatic disease, a lytic lesion adjacent to an endplate with typical imaging features can often confidently be called a Schmorl's node. This is a case report of a patient with a single well-defined FDG-avid papillary thyroid carcinoma metastasis to the spine that had imaging findings characteristic of a Schmorl's node on CT and MRI. This case is important to consider as it demonstrates that the imaging characteristics of metastatic disease and Schmorl's nodes can overlap.
Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, 55 Fruit St, Boston, MA 02114 USA ; Department of Radiology, Division of Nuclear Medicine, UMass Memorial Medical Center, 55 Lake Ave N, Worcester, MA 01655 USA.
Cory P
CP
Daignault
Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, 55 Fruit St, Boston, MA 02114 USA.
Edwin L
EL
Palmer
Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, 55 Fruit St, Boston, MA 02114 USA.
James A
JA
Scott
Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, 55 Fruit St, Boston, MA 02114 USA.
John S
JS
Swan
Thyroid Unit and Department of Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, 55 Fruit St, Boston, MA 02114 USA.
Gilbert H
GH
Daniels
FDG; MRI; PET; Schmorl’s node; Thyroglobulin; Thyroid cancer