Intra-Abdominal Insular Thyroid Carcinoma Metastasis

Abstract

In thyroid cancer, metastases to intra-abdominal solid organs are uncommon and intra-peritoneal metastases are extremely rare. Here we present the management and outcome of a young patient with a large radioiodine resistant intra-peritoneal metastasis of insular thyroid cancer. A 28-year-old woman with known radioiodine resistant metastatic insular (poorly differentiated) thyroid carcinoma and multiple previous resected metastases presented with acute onset of bowel obstruction due to a large pelvic mass. The pelvic mass was resected and histologically confirmed to be an insular thyroid carcinoma metastasis. She made an uneventful recovery from her surgery and continues to have a good quality of life despite low volume metastatic disease. As this patient demonstrates, a rational but aggressive surgical approach is warranted for patients with radioiodine-resistant metastatic thyroid disease.