Primary squamous-cell thyroid carcinoma - a successful treatment with five-year follow-up

Squamous cell carcinoma is an extremely rare neoplasm of the thyroid (SCTC) that represents no more than 1% of all primary thyroid malignancies. We report a case of a 42-year-old woman with rapidly growing mass in the right lower neck, primarily diagnosed in fineneedle aspiration cytology as a low-differentiated carcinoma. After the surgery, exclusion of all the other possible primary tumour locations, and immunohistochemistry tests, the diagnosis of primary squamous cell carcinoma of the thyroid gland was established. Because of close surgical margins and metastatic neck node, the patient was referred to adjuvant postoperative irradiation. With five-year follow-up the patient is free of disease and still in very good condition.