Abstract
Papillary thyroid cancer （PTC） and oral cancer share a common lymph node affiliation. In patients with both types of cancers, it may be difficult to preoperatively identify which cancer has metastasized to the cervical lymph nodes. The treatment of oral cancer with detected PTC metastases in the cervical lymph nodes is controversial. Here, we report three cases of incidentally detected PTC in neck dissection specimens of patients with oral cancer.
Case 1：A 61-year-old woman with squamous cell carcinoma （SCC） of the right side of the tongue （cT4aN2cM0） underwent subtotal glossectomy, bilateral conservative neck dissection, and reconstruction using a rectus abdominis musculocutaneous flap. No cervical lymph node metastases of SCC were found, but five cervical lymph node metastases of PTC were found.
Case 2：A 79-year-old woman with SCC of the right mandibular gingiva （cT4aN0M0） underwent segmental mandibulectomy, right-sided conservative neck dissection, and reconstruction with a rectus abdominis musculocutaneous flap and titanium plate. Cervical lymph node metastases of SCC and PTC were observed.
Case 3：A 61-year-old woman underwent conservative right-sided neck dissection after surgery for mucoepidermoid carcinoma of the right lower lip. Cervical lymph node metastasis of mucoepidermoid carcinoma and PTC were observed.
The present study suggests the significance of performing histological diagnosis, including fine-needle aspiration of the thyroid gland and cervical lymph nodes, when PTC is suspected during systemic examination of patients with oral cancer.
