ISOLATED PORTA-HEPATIS METASTASIS OF PAPILLARY THYROID-CANCER

Metastases from differentiated thyroid cancer are usually seen in the cervical or mediastinal lymph nodes, lung or bone. We report a case of papillary thyroid cancer metastasizing to lymph nodes in the porta he patis. No other site of metastasis was apparent on neck or abdominal e xploration or on iodine whole-body scans. The primary tumor was a mult ifocal papillary thyroid cancer arising on a background of multinodula r goiter, The metastasis was observed on a diagnostic radioiodine scan after surgical resection of the primary tumor despite significant (11 %) radioiodine uptake by residual thyroid tissue in the neck and was p roven by histologic examination and thyroglobulin immunohistochemistry . Although rare, metastasis to porta hepatis lymph nodes should be con sidered in the differential diagnosis of abdominal radioiodine uptake in patients with differentiated thyroid cancer.