Spinelli C, Sanna B, Ghionzoli M, Micelli E. Therapeutic challenges in metastatic follicular thyroid cancer occurring in pregnancy: A case report. World J Obstet Gynecol 2022; 11(3): 33-39 [DOI: 10.5317/wjog.v11.i3.33]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Marco Ghionzoli, MD, PhD, Attending Doctor, Division of Pediatric and Adolescent Surgery, Department of Surgical, Medical, Molecular Pathology and of the Critic Area, University of Pisa, Via Roma 67, Pisa 56100, Italy. marco.ghionzoli@meyer.it
Research Domain of This Article
Obstetrics & Gynecology
Article-Type of This Article
Case Report
Open-Access Policy of This Article
This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
World J Obstet Gynecol. Jun 29, 2022; 11(3): 33-39 Published online Jun 29, 2022. doi: 10.5317/wjog.v11.i3.33
Therapeutic challenges in metastatic follicular thyroid cancer occurring in pregnancy: A case report
Claudio Spinelli, Beatrice Sanna, Marco Ghionzoli, Elisabetta Micelli
Claudio Spinelli, Beatrice Sanna, Marco Ghionzoli, Division of Pediatric and Adolescent Surgery, Department of Surgical, Medical, Molecular Pathology and of the Critic Area, University of Pisa, Pisa 56100, Italy
Elisabetta Micelli, Division of Gynecology and Obstetrics, University of Pisa, Pisa 56100, Italy
Author contributions: Spinelli C, Sanna B and Micelli E participated in conception and design, drafting the article and acquisition of data; Sanna B and Ghionzoli M participated in acquisition of data and analysis and interpretation of data; All of the co-authors interpreted the data, participated in the completion of the article, and approved the final version of the article.
Informed consent statement: All study participants, or their legal guardian, provided informed written consent prior to study enrollment.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare that they have no conflict of interests.
CARE Checklist (2016) statement: The authors have read the CARE Checklist (2016), and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the CARE Checklist (2016).
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Marco Ghionzoli, MD, PhD, Attending Doctor, Division of Pediatric and Adolescent Surgery, Department of Surgical, Medical, Molecular Pathology and of the Critic Area, University of Pisa, Via Roma 67, Pisa 56100, Italy. marco.ghionzoli@meyer.it
Received: December 28, 2021 Peer-review started: December 28, 2021 First decision: March 16, 2022 Revised: March 22, 2022 Accepted: May 28, 2022 Article in press: May 28, 2022 Published online: June 29, 2022 Processing time: 182 Days and 19.9 Hours
Abstract
BACKGROUND
Hormones could play a role in the evolution of follicular thyroid cancer (FTC) for which we discuss an unusual presentation of FTC occurring during pregnancy.
CASE SUMMARY
A pregnant woman was admitted with FTC metastasis resulting in a gluteal mass. Preoperative abdominal computed tomography revealed liver metastasis for which the patient underwent total thyroidectomy and liver resection, oral radioiodine therapy and radiotherapy, followed by embolization of the pelvic mass. The patient died of cerebral hemorrhage 16 mo after the initial diagnosis.
CONCLUSION
Human chorionic gonadotropin and estrogen stimulation might have a role in cancer growth, especially during pregnancy. FTC management aims to stop disease progression and overcome hormonal imbalances after thyroidectomy thus reducing fetal complications. It is still under debate whether it is possible to combine optimal timing for treatment to ensure the best possible outcome with reduction of fetal complications and risk of cancer growth.
Core Tip: We discuss an uncommon presentation of follicular thyroid cancer occurring during pregnancy. Beta human chorionic gonadotropin and estrogens could take part in the progression of thyroid tumors.
