Synchronous mucoepidermoid carcinoma and papillary microcarcinomas of the thyroid gland

Thyroid mucoepidermoid carcinoma (MEC) is a rare thyroid malignancy first documented in 1977. The majority of thyroid MECs are indolent, low-grade tumours with excellent prognosis. A woman in her 60s presented with an ongoing sensation of a lump in the left neck. There were no swallowing, voice or airway concerns. Ultrasound of the neck showed an enlarged thyroid with U5 and U3 features on the right and left lobes, respectively. Right fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) demonstrated certain features of Hurthle cell or anaplastic carcinoma (Thy5). Left FNAC showed Hurthle cell changes with atypical cells and prominent nucleoli (Thy3a). Following total thyroidectomy, histopathology revealed synchronous right low-grade MEC and left papillary thyroid microcarcinomas (pT2(m) N0 M0) on a background of Hashimoto's thyroiditis. This case adds to the literature and details the key histopathological features for a rare but important differential in patients with thyroid carcinoma due to synchronous histological types.

Automated summary

Thyroid mucoepidermoid carcinoma is a rare but important thyroid malignancy with a good prognosis. This case contributes to the medical literature by providing new information and detailing the key histopathological features of thyroid carcinoma with synchronous different histological types.