Hypopharyngeal cancer masquerading as a thyroid mass

ABSTRACT

Hypopharyngeal cancer (HPC) is generally a rare head and neck malignancy. There are differing clinical presentations depending on the subsite location of primary tumour. Advanced HPC will have neck node metastasis particularly upper jugulodigastric nodes. We report a patient with postcricoid tumour who presented with anterior huge neck swelling mimic thyroid mass. The patient first presented to the General Surgical Unit for management of presumed thyroid lesion. She was diagnosed post-cricoid squamous cell carcinoma when further assessed by otorhinolaryngologist.