[Adrenal metastasis of a papillary thyroid cancer]

Adrenal metastases of the papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) are very rare. We report one case. A 63-year-old woman had undergone 15 years earlier left lobo-ishmectomy for a papillary thyroid cancer (PTC) and 7 years earlier right adrenalectomy for a tumor. Histologic examination showed a benign cortical tumor. In 1999, when the patient was admitted for worsening of glycemic control, a recurrence of the adrenal mass was detected. According to the hormone evaluation it was a non-functional tumor. Adrenalectomy was performed in June 2002 because the patient had initially declined surgery. Histologic examination and thyroglobulin immunochemistry identified metastatic PTC. Re-reading the histology slide of the first adrenalectomy agreed with the diagnosis. Thyroidectomy was completed in March 2003. Although iodine-131 therapy and thyroxine treatment were given, bone metastases were detected in August 2004. PTC usually spreads to the cervical and mediastinal lymph nodes. Distant spread may occur to bone or lung, but exceptionally to the adrenal gland. The adrenal localization is often associated with lung or bone metastasis. In our patient, the adrenal metastasis remained isolated for many years. It has been reported that survival rate decreases considerably after appearance of a distant metastasis. Although given delayed radical treatment, our patient remained alive 13 years after.