Diffuse sclerosing variant of papillary thyroid carcinoma

Abstract

Diffuse sclerosing variant of papillary thyroid carcinoma is a rare variant. This variant is characterized by diffuse fibrosis, calcification, abundant lymphocytic infiltration and psammoma bodies. This variant is usually seen in female patients in the second decade and has an associated chronic thyroiditis. The sonographic findings of diffuse involvement without an obvious mass in the thyroid make it often misdiagnosed as chronic thyroiditis. The treatment is total thyroidectomy, which is similar to high-risk papillary cancer, but since there are many cases with lymph node metastasis in the lateral neck, modified neck dissection is often performed. Here, we performed total thyroidectomy and modified neck dissection in two young women and added radioiodine isotope therapy postoperatively. Although the observation period was short, no recurrence was observed in either case.