Primary papillary carcinoma of the thyroglossal duct in a 14-year-old female: case report and review of the literature

Abstract

Thyroglossal duct carcinoma is a rare pathologic entity. The surgeon's main concern is whether to perform thyroidectomy or not. In this paper, we report another case of thyroglossal papillary duct carcinoma in a 14-old girl suspected preoperatively and confirmed postoperatively on the histological analysis of resected specimen by a Sistrunk procedure. Therapeutic strategy was completed by a total thyroidectomy with radioactive iodine therapy and suppressive levothyroxine therapy. In the absence of clear guidelines, the management of thyroglossal duct carcinoma is depending on the clinical situation and the experience of the team of surgeons.

Keywords

• thyroglossal cyst
• papillary carcinoma
• surgery