-Case Reports-

Follicular Carcinoma Arising from the Pyramidal Lobe of the Thyroid

Chie Ogawa¹, Makoto Kammori¹, Hiroyuki Onose¹, Emiko Yamada¹, Kazuo Shimizu² and Tetsu Yamada¹

¹Kanaji Thyroid Hospital, Tokyo
²Department of Biological Regulation and Regenerative Surgery, Graduate School of Medicine, Nippon Medical School

We present a rare case of follicular carcinoma arising from the pyramidal lobe of the thyroid in a 21-year-old woman. Radical resection of the thyroid isthmus was performed, followed by adjuvant hormonal therapy with levothyroxine. After 15 months of follow-up, the patient remains disease-free. Thyroid carcinoma in children and adolescents is rare, and also rarely arises in the pyramidal lobe. To our knowledge, this is the first report of this type of neoplasm arising from the thyroid pyramidal lobe. We are following up this case carefully, and if recurrence or metastasis or both occur, we plan to perform total thyroidectomy and ablation with ¹³¹I. This case suggests the importance of the differential diagnosis of midline cervical masses and the management of this type of neoplasm in adolescents.

J Nippon Med Sch 2009; 76: 169-172

Keywords
follicular carcinoma, thyroid, pyramidal lobe

Correspondence to
Makoto Kammori, MD, PhD, Kanaji Thyroid Hospital, 1-5-6 Nakazato, Kita-ku, Tokyo 114-0015, Japan
kanmori-dis@umin.ac.jp

Received, February 16, 2009
Accepted, March 5, 2009