[Thyroglossal duct carcinoma combined with systemic lupus erythematosus: one case report]

Thyroglossal duct carcinoma is a malignant tumor which occurs in the thyroglossal duct cyst. The incidence of thyroglossal duct carcinoma has been reported as approximately 1%. Up to now, just about 250 cases of thyroglossal duct carcinoma have been reported in the literature,most of which are single case reports and small case series. In most cases, the diagnosis of the thyroglossal duct carcinoma is not made until the histologic examination after surgery operation. The preoperative examination such as CT or fine needle aspiration cytology can help the preoperative diagnosis. But the surgical treatment for the thyroglossal duct carcinoma is still controversial. Now we report a case of a thyroglossal duct carcinoma combined with systemic lupus erythematosus. The patient herself found an anterior neck mass in the median submental region one year ago. The preoperative CT examination suggested thyroglossal duct cyst with pouch canceration(papillary carcinoma). Then she underwent a Sistrunk procedure and level I neck dissection, and the histopathological diagnosis was thyroglossal duct carcinoma. The patient was treated with levothyroxine therapy at suppressive dose after the surgery. Now the patient is at regular follow-up with no relapse occur.