Papillary thyroid microcarcinoma presenting as a large cystic lymph node: A case report

Papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) may deviate from the expected clinical course, posing diagnostic challenges to clinicians. The present study presents a case of longstanding swelling on the left side of the neck, initially diagnosed as a cystic lesion, which was later revealed to be metastatic thyroid cancer. A 21-year-old woman presented with a 3-year history of a neck mass that had initially been diagnosed as a likely hemangioma or branchial cleft cyst in 2019.

However, subsequent scans in 2022 revealed a suspicious cyst and a thyroid nodule, which were confirmed to be PTC with metastasis to the cyst. The patient underwent a total thyroidectomy with neck dissection, followed by radioactive iodine treatment, and has had no recurrence at the 6-month follow-up. Cystic neck masses are often attributed to benign conditions such as dermoid cysts, branchial cleft cysts, epidermoid cysts, teratomas and cystic …