Thyroid carcinomas arising in thyroglossal ducts

Six cases of thyroid carcinoma arising in a thyroglossal duct cyst are described and combined with previously reported cases to provide a total of 66 cases for retrospective analysis. Most presented as benign thyroglossal duct cyst, and the malignant nature of the lesion was not recognized until the permanent pathology sections were reviewed. Eight of 10 patients with metastatic disease in retrospect had preoperative indications of malignancy as manifest by clinically suspicious nodes or a thyroglossal cyst larger than the mean for the series. The primary cell type in all cases was papillary thyroid carcinoma. Local resection by the Sistrunk method and suppressive doses of thyroid are recommended for the patient with papillary thyroid carcinoma arising in a thyroglossal duct cyst when there is no evidence of extension of the malignancy beyond the confines of the cyst. The patient presenting with metastatic carcinoma should, of course, be treated with appropriate local resection, hormonal manipulation, thyroid ablation, and lymphadenectomy as indicated by his age and sex, the cell type of the tumor, and the extent of local and metastatic disease.