Infiltration of thyroid papillary cancer tissue with myeloid leukemic cells: a case report

Extramedullary leukemia, also known as myeloid sarcoma, is a rare form of acute myeloid leukemia and often accompanies bone marrow involvement. Myeloid infiltration of the thyroid gland is extremely rare. Here, a unique case in which thyroid cancer tissue was infiltrated with myeloid cells is presented.

We present a case of thyroid papillary cancer infiltrated by blastic cells and bilateral breast and axillary myeloid sarcoma in a 30-year-old Caucasian female patient with a history of osteosarcoma and MDS-RAEB2. The patient firstly received 6 cycles of chemotherapy for osteosarcoma, and allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation was performed after anthracycline-based chemotherapy due to MDS-RAEB2. The patient remained in remission on follow-up in terms of both osteosarcoma and MDS-RAEB2. Malignant features (Bethesda VI) were observed in the fine needle aspiration biopsy performed from a newly developed firm, fixed thyroid nodule approximately 4-5 cm in length in the left thyroid lobe. Because of the Bethesda VI thyroid nodule, the patient underwent total thyroidectomy. In the pathological evaluation, CD34-, CD117-, MPO-, and HLA-DR-positive blastic cells which infiltrated into follicular variant papillary thyroid carcinoma were detected. In the evaluation performed due to blastic cell infiltration, multiple lesions showing increased 18-fluorodeoxyglucose activity in bilateral breast and axillae were detected. Myeloid sarcoma was found as a result of tru-cut biopsy from these lesions. A fungal cystic lesion was detected in the frontal region of the patient who developed altered consciousness after the second cycle of treatment of myeloid sarcoma. During her follow-up in the intensive care unit, she died of cranial septic embolism and acute infarction.

Here, we present a very interesting case that is the first. A staged approach to diagnosis with methods including immunohistochemical staining, radiological imaging methods, and cytogenetic and molecular analyses can help make the definitive diagnosis.