High survival simultaneous occurrence of papillary thyroid carcinoma and ectopic thyroid with medullary thyroid carcinoma; case report and literature review

Abstract

Abstract Thyroid cancer is usually treated with surgical intervention followed by ablative radiotherapy if indicated to eliminate any metastases. Five-year survival rates are 99% for papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) and 82% for medullary thyroid carcinoma (MTC). The chances of survival decrease significantly with two simultaneous types of cancers and with male gender. PTC and MTC present as different entities. The coexistence of different types of thyroid carcinoma in a patient is a rare event. We report the case of a 45-year-old Saudi male with a rare synchronous occurrence of PTC in the thyroid gland, along with ectopic MTC with a unique prognosis over the years. Our case adds data to the literature supporting the coincidental coexistence of PTC and MTC.