Lesiones metastásicas a glándula tiroides. Una serie de casos

Metastatic lesions represent up to 3% of malignant tumors of the thyroid gland. Most cases originate from lung and renal cell tumors. The diagnostic approach implies a high clinical suspicion in patients with known primaries, however, it can be the initial manifestation of an extensive undiagnosed malignant disease in up to 20% to 40% of patients. Fine-needle biopsy has shown good performance for the diagnosis of metastatic nodules. The prognosis and the option of surgical treatment depend on the local control of the primary condition and the state of the associated systemic disease, therefore it must be individualized. In general, up to 80% of patients with thyroid involvement have multi-organ metastatic disease and surgical treatment is intended to be palliative to prevent complications resulting from local extension of the disease to structures of the upper aerodigestive tract in the neck. A case series of six patients with metastatic lesions to the thyroid gland with primaries in the kidney, breast and melanomas is presented below.