Cervical metastasis of occult papillary thyroid carcinoma associated with epidermoid carcinoma of the larynx

An occult, laterocervical papillary thyroid carcinoma tissue was found in a functional neck dissection for larynx cancer. The patient was a 76-year-ol d man with a history of smoking and alcohol ingestion who presented with a supraglottic carcinoma of the larynx located at the laryngeal surface of th e epiglottis, left aryepiglottic fold, band and left ventricle with extensi on to the left vocal cord. Light microscopy showed a lymph node with a fibr ous stroma with lymphoid follicles that presented a total substitution of t he parenchyma by a papillary thyroid carcinoma. Although examination of the thyroid gland by seriated sections did not reveal any neoplasm, we argue t hat the papillary thyroid tissue is metastatic.