Thyroid collision tumor containing oncocytic carcinoma, classical and hobnail variants of papillary carcinoma and areas of poorly differentiated carcinoma

Abstract

Collision tumors are rare and may comprise components with different behavior, treatments, and prognosis. We report an unprecedented case of aggressive thyroid collision tumor containing widely invasive oncocytic carcinoma (OC), classical and hobnail (HPTC) variants of papillary carcinoma, and poorly differentiated carcinoma (PDTC). The patient underwent total thyroidectomy, radioactive iodine therapy, and within months progressed with local recurrence, and pulmonary metastases requiring neck dissection, external radiotherapy and systemic treatment with sorafenib. The rapid progression, dedifferentiated metastatic lesions, and failure to treatments resulted in the patient ' s death. The great variety of histological types and the evolution of this case were a challenge for the management of metastatic disease. Widely invasive OC, HPTC and PDTC are considered to have a worse prognosis. HPTC has never been reported as a component of a collision tumor. HPTC and PDTC should call attention to a possible higher-grade transformation.