Bilateral pulmonary metastases of papillary thyroid carcinoma in a 12-year-old child–A case report and review of the literature

Abstract

Metastatic disease of the lung has been extensively documented in the adult patient population. The most common primary sources for pulmonary metastases include breast, colon gastrointestinal including pancreas and urinary bladder. Malignant lung tumors in pediatric population is extremely rare. However, like in adult patient population, metastases are more common than primary tumors in lung in pediatric patients. Metastatic spread of tumors can occur both by way of hematogenous spread and lymphatic pathways. We present a rare case of biopsy proven metastatic thyroid carcinoma in the lung in a 12-year-old male child masquerading as bilateral miliary nodules on imaging studies. The importance of recognition of this entity in terms of prognosis and treatment is discussed.

Keywords

• Lung cancer
• Papillary thyroid carcinoma
• Metastases
• Langerhans's cell histiocytosis
• Wilms tumor
• Osteosarcoma