Tall-cell variant papillary thyroid carcinoma arising from struma ovarll

To present a case of tall-cell variant (TCV) papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) arising from Struma ovarii (SO) and to discuss special considerations in the management of this patient.

The clinical presentation and relevant pathologic features of a patient with PTC-TCV developing from SO are described, and a concise review of literature regarding this topic is also presented.

A 36-year-old woman with a history of stable right ovarian dermoid cyst presented with amenorrhea and was found to have a significantly enlarged right ovary with multiple cysts. Following laparoscopic cystectomy, pathology revealed mature cystic teratoma (SO) with associated PTC-TCV. Based on this finding, she underwent right salpingo-oophorectomy, right pelvic lymph node dissection, and partial omentectomy. Pathology was negative for extra-ovarian disease, and her tumor was staged as pT1pN0M0. Total thyroidectomy was performed in preparation for radioactive iodine (RAI) therapy. A diagnostic iodine-131 (I-131) scan showed residual uptake in the neck with faint uptake in the lower left quadrant of the abdomen and was followed by therapy with 90 mCi of I-131. The patient had an unremarkable course with no clinical or biochemical evidence of disease recurrence to date.

This is to our knowledge the first reported case of TCV-PTC arising from SO. The presence of this aggressive variant of PTC factored into our decision to proceed with thyroidectomy and I-131 ablation, despite the lack of conclusive evidence in the literature. Recent discoveries on the natural history of thyroid-derived TCV-PTC were critical in choosing the appropriate management for this patient's disease.