A Case of Pulmonary Metastasis of Thyroid Papillary Carcinoma Which was Mistaken for Miliary Tuberculosis / 대한내분비학회지

ABSTRACT

Thyroid cancer is the fourth most common malignant tumor in Korean women. It has been acknowledged for a long time that differentiated thyroid cancers have two basic ways of dissemination, lymphtic and hematogenous. Though lymphatic spread to regional lymph nodes is the typical presentation of papillary thyroid cancer of young patients, pulmonary metastasis are not uncommon in this age group. And it is interesting that almost all the patient with metastases to lung showed metastases to the regional neck lymph node. Abnormal chest X-ray of the patient of pulmonary metastasis shows only nonspecific diffuse micronodular pattern which is not easy to be differentiated. And here we report a case of pulmonary metastasis of thyroid papillary carcinoma which was mistaken for pulmonary miliary tuberculosis. It is suggested that more intensive consideration will be necessary for the diagnosis of pulmonary miliaria of children who shows neck mass.