Thyroid carcinoma in a patient with a coexisting functional adenoma

Fourteen case reports have been published in which "hot" nodules have been documented as carcinoma, with or without coexisting adenomas. The diagnosis of these lesions is difficult, since hot nodules usually represent benign disease. These carcinomas are not functional, but represent coexistence of a functional area or a malignant degeneration. Hot nodule carcinomas should be suspected in high-risk patients. A euthyroid, 31-year-old woman who, as a teenager, had radiotherapy for acne is reported. She was followed up with yearly scans for a hot nodule in the right lower lobe of her thyroid. When she was 36, a node was discovered in the right side of her neck, and carcinoma was suspected. Surgical excision revealed a papillary-follicular carcinoma adjacent to an adenoma with metastases to regional lymph nodes.