A 35-year-old female had a thyroid ultrasound performed for evaluation of a questionable mass in the region of the right lobe of the thyroid gland.
What is the most likely diagnosis?
- Goiter
- Papillary thyroid carcinoma
- Medullary thyroid cancer
Image courtesy of UltrasoundCases.info, owned by SonoSkills.
Explanation
Papillary thyroid carcinoma is the most common type of thyroid cancer. It is generally slow growing. Approximately 80-85% of thyroid carcinomas are papillary thyroid carcinomas. Ultrasound findings are a solitary hypoechoic/heterogenous thyroid nodule with microcalcifications which are psammoma bodies. Local lymph node invasion is also commonly seen. It can metastasize distally also and when it is not confined to the thyroid the mortality rate is higher. Keep in mind that psammoma bodies are found in several other pathological conditions also. Please see references for detailed information.
References
