Metastasis to the liver in well-differentiated carcinoma of the thyroid

Eleven patients (6 women; 5 men) of a series of 1,916 developed liver metastasis from differentiated thyroid cancer within 3 months to 202 months after the initial diagnosis. Liver metastasis generally appeared after the onset of metastases at other sites. The metastasis to the liver was clinically suspected in 8 patients whereas it was accidentally diagnosed on ultrasound examination of abdomen for a complaint of back pain in 1 patient, on a whole body diagnostic radioiodine scan in 1 case, and on radionuclide liver scan in 1 patient. Three patients had noniodide concentrating hepatic metastasis which were treated with chemotherapy but with poor response. The remaining 8 patients were treated with radioiodine. The survival rate was poor but could not be attributed to liver metastasis per se because of the extensive metastatic disease at other sites.