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Pathology of the Pleura and Mediastinum pp 83–87Cite as

Ectopic Thyroid Tumors, Mediastinal

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Part of the book series: Encyclopedia of Pathology ((EP))

Synonyms

Intrathoracic goiter; Intrathoracic thyroid carcinoma; Substernal goiter; Substernal thyroid carcinoma

Definition

Tumors of thyroid origin that arise within, extend into, or metastasize to involve the mediastinum.

Clinical Features

  • Incidence

    Approximately 20% of goiters extend into the thorax, representing roughly 10% of mediastinal masses. Rarely, foci of malignancy can arise within mediastinal goiter. Advanced-stage thyroid malignancies can involve the mediastinum and surrounding structures. Metastatic carcinoma of thyroid origin in mediastinal lymph nodes may present as a mass lesion.

  • Age

    Goiter is most common in women of reproductive age. Thyroid malignancy occurs primarily in young and middle-aged adults. The mean age at diagnosis of papillary thyroid carcinoma is mid-40s–50s, 50s for follicular carcinoma and medullary thyroid carcinoma (unless syndrome associated), and 60s for anaplastic thyroid carcinoma.

  • Sex

    Thyroid goiter is more common in women. Thyroid neoplasms are...

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References and Further Reading

  • Daraki, V., Koukouraki, S., Velegrakis, G., Mamalaki, E., Haniotis, V. T., Kalikakis, G., Stathaki, M. I., Karkavitsas, N., & Papavasiliou, S. S. (2012). Rare presentation of occult medullary carcinoma of the thyroid as a mediastinal mass. Hormones (Athens, Greece), 11(2), 210–214.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • De Las Casas, L. E., Williams, H. J., Strausbauch, P. H., & Silverman, J. F. (2000). Hurthle cell adenoma of the mediastinum: Intraoperative cytology and differential diagnosis with correlative gross, histology, and ancillary studies. Diagnostic Cytopathology, 22(1), 16–20.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Falco, C. E., Grande, A. M., Nicolardi, S., Viganò, M., & Benazzo, M. (2010). Management of anaplastic thyroid carcinoma spread over the trachea with mediastinal extension. Giornale di Chirurgia, 31(8–9), 390–393.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Nar Demirer, A., Ayturk, S., Tutuncu, N. B., Gursoy, A., Pak, Y., & Demirag, N. G. (2009). Unresectable huge sternal and mediastinal metastasis of follicular thyroid carcinoma; radiotherapy as first-line and palliative therapy. Experimental and Clinical Endocrinology and Diabetes, 117(4), 155–158.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Shah, B. C., Ravichand, C. S., Juluri, S., Agarwal, A., Pramesh, C. S., & Mistry, R. C. (2007). Ectopic thyroid cancer. Annals of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, 13(2), 122–124.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Strollo, D. C., Rosado de Christenson, M. L., & Jett, J. R. (1997). Primary mediastinal tumors. Part 1: Tumors of the anterior mediastinum. Chest, 112(2), 511–522.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Miami, 1 NW 12th Avenue, Room 4058, Miami, FL, 33136, USA

    Christina M. Kovacs & Carmen Gomez-Fernandez

Authors
  1. Christina M. Kovacs
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  2. Carmen Gomez-Fernandez
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Christina M. Kovacs .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pathology, The University of Mississippi Medical School, The University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, MS, USA

    Timothy Craig Allen

  2. Department of Pathology, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, USA

    Saul Suster

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© 2018 Springer International Publishing AG, part of Springer Nature

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Cite this entry

Kovacs, C.M., Gomez-Fernandez, C. (2018). Ectopic Thyroid Tumors, Mediastinal. In: Allen, T.C., Suster, S. (eds) Pathology of the Pleura and Mediastinum. Encyclopedia of Pathology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-66796-6_60

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-66796-6_60

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-66795-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-66796-6

  • eBook Packages: MedicineReference Module Medicine

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