The ultrasonographic characteristics of metastatic carcinoma of the thyroid gland

LIU Junying; WANG Yong; CUI Ningyi; HAN Jie; ZHANG Rui

doi:10.19300/j.2017.L4605

Abstract：Objective To investigate the sonographic features of metastatic carcinoma of the thyroid gland. Methods The ultrasonographic and histopathological data of 11 cases with metastatic carcinoma of thyroid gland were analyzed retrospectively. The ultrasonic types of metastatic carcinoma of the thyroid gland were classified according to the appearances of ultrasonography. In the 11 cases, there were 8 males and 3 females with a mean age of 62.3 ±6.3 years, aged from 49~73 years old. Results In 11 the cases, six patients had unilateral thyroid involvement and 5 had bilateral thyroid involvement. Five cases showed single nodule type (from lung in 2 cases, and from esophagus, kidney, and rectum 1 for each). The range of the largest diameter of lesions was from 3.0 to 5.6 cm (mean 3.9 cm). 4 cases showed multiple nodules type (from esophagus, kidney, rectum, and tongue 1 for each). The range of the largest diameter of lesions was from 1.5 to 3.8 cm (mean 2.5 cm). Two cases showed diffuse type (from lung and breast 1 for each). The single nodule and multiple nodules type presented as hypoechoic lesion with heterogeneous echo, irregular, ill defined contour, abundant flood and cervical lymph node enlargement, without halo, cystic degeneration and calcification. The diffuse type presented as hypoechoic lesion with diffused enlargement of the gland, heterogeneous echo, and abundant flood. All of them had cervical lymph node enlargement. Result The metastatic carcinoma of the thyroid gland has certain characteristics on ultrasonography. The ultrasonography is valuable in the diagnosis of the metastatic carcinoma of the thyroid gland when combining patient’s clinical history.