Metastatic leiomyosarcoma of the thyroid: a case report.

Metastatic malignant tumors of the thyroid are rarely encountered clinically. Most arise from primary sites in the lung, breast, kidney or gastrointestinal tract. Their clinical presentation may mimic a primary thyroid tumor and include signs and symptoms such as enlargement of the neck, hoarseness and dysphagia. Without a history of carcinoma in other organs, management as for primary thyroid tumor is often undertaken and misdiagnosis is common. This report concerns a 63-year-old female patient with a rapidly progressive enlargement of the neck. She had had a primary leiomyosarcoma lesion in her left leg that had been well controlled after wide excision. Bilateral pulmonary metastases were noted two years later without local recurrence. She receive wedge lung resections several times. To relieve progressive shortness of breath, debulking surgery of the thyroid was performed and metastatic leiomyosarcoma was proved. The related clinical data of this rare metastatic leiomyosarcoma of the thyroid is presented and the literature is reviewed.