PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Kalliopi Athanassiadi
AU  - Maria-Styliani Kolokotroni
AU  - Ilias Samiotis
AU  - Despina Violidaki
AU  - Konstantina Sotiriou
AU  - Dimitra Rondogianni
AU  - Ion Bellenis
TI  - Ectopic heterotopic mediastinal thyroid tissue mimicking lung cancer
DP  - 2012 Sep 01
TA  - European Respiratory Journal
PG  - P1269
VI  - 40
IP  - Suppl 56
4099  - http://erj.ersjournals.com/content/40/Suppl_56/P1269.short
4100  - http://erj.ersjournals.com/content/40/Suppl_56/P1269.full
SO  - Eur Respir J2012 Sep 01; 40
AB  - OBJECTIVE: Ectopic intrathoracic thyroid is a very rare presentation of a mediastinal mass, comprising 1% of mediastinal tumors and can be distinguished from restosternal goiter or secondary intrathoracic goiter from the fact that the former receives its blood supply from mediastinal vessels rather than the neck and is not connected to the cervical thyroid. We present a series of 9 patients with heterotopic mediastinal thyroid mimicking lung cancer.MATERIAL: Nine patients, 5 male and 4 female ranging in age between 56 and 79 years were admitted at our hospital. All patients but two were asymptomatic. Chest radiography revealed a mass in the superior middle or posterior mediastinum, in 2 cases with tracheal deviation. CT scan revealed a mass and further investigation took place with MRI. Preoperative staging was negative for metastatic disease in all cases and ultrasonography, scintigram and I131 uptake precluded the possible existence of thyroid tissue. Thyroid function tests were also normal.RESULTS: All patients were led to surgery and were submitted either to lateral mini-thoracotomy (n=5), or cervical incision (n=3) or thoracoscopy (n=1). In all cases there was an encapsulated mass with blood supply from intrathoracic vessels and histopathology revealed thyroid. The postoperative course was uneventful and no recurrence was observed in a follow up of 2 months to 4 years.CONCLUSION: Although malignant transformation in heterotopic thyroid tissue is extremely rare, these masses should be resected in order to put the diagnosis and to avoid later complications such as progressive enlargement, hemorrhage within the mass causing respiratory failure, and compression of vital mediastinal organs.