Squamous cell carcinoma of the upper aerodigestive tract associated with well-differentiated carcinoma of the thyroid gland.

Abstract

The association of squamous cell carcinoma of the upper aerodigestive tract with well-differentiated thyroid carcinomas has rarely been reported in the literature. We report 10 cases illustrating this occurrence. In eight cases, the thyroid carcinoma was discovered accidentally on histological examination of a single neck node, a neck node dissection specimen, an unexpectedly found thyroid nodule, or a systematically resected thyroid lobe, all during surgical treatment of an upper aerodigestive tract carcinoma. In the other two cases, metastatic thyroid neck nodes appeared during the follow-up of a patient with an upper aerodigestive tract carcinoma. No case of upper aerodigestive tract carcinomas was found during the follow-up of thyroid cancer patients. In most cases, adequate thyroid cancer surgery was performed simultaneously or later. Prognosis was essentially determined by the upper aerodigestive tract cancer.