Mandibular metastasis with pulmonary cannon balls: Presentation of follicular carcinoma thyroid

Abstract

Swelling of the jaw due to metastatic lesions needs careful search for an occult malignancy. Thyroid carcinoma is a rare cause of jaw bone metastasis. A 70-year-old female presented in our chest clinic with progressive shortness of breath for last 1-month and associated painful swelled right jaw for last 4 months. Her computed tomography scan thorax showed bilateral cannon ball metastasis involving all lobes of the lung. Fine-needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) from radiographically evident osteolytic lesion of the mandible was suggestive of metastatic carcinoma probably of thyroid origin. Ultrasonography of the thyroid gland revealed well-defined hypoechoic nodule (measuring about 2 cm × 1.8 cm) with few foci of calcification. FNAC from the thyroid nodule followed by immunocytochemistry was suggestive of follicular carcinoma of the thyroid. We report a very rare presentation, as jaw metastasis in follicular carcinoma of the thyroid.

Keywords

• Follicular carcinoma
• lung
• mandibular metastasis
• thyroid