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Open access

Follicular lymphoma of the thyroid and the role of core needle biopsy

Clara Cunha, Filipa Mousinho, Catarina Saraiva, and João Sequeira Duarte

Summary

Primary thyroid lymphoma (PTL) is a rare malignancy, accounting for less than 5% of all thyroid neoplasms. The follicular subtype is even more rare, accounting for approximately 10% of all PTL cases. We report a case of a 64-year-old woman, who presented with a rapidly growing goitre with mass effect and B symptoms. She had a history of Hashimoto’s thyroiditis and her thyroid ultrasound revealed diffuse goitre with a dominant nodule (56 × 63 × 60 mm) within the right thyroid lobe. Ultrasound-guided percutaneous fine-needle aspiration of the right thyroid nodule was classified as benign, according to Bethesda System, with lymphocytic thyroiditis. A CT scan of the neck showed diffuse enlargement of the thyroid gland extending towards the anterior mediastinum with tracheal deviation and lymphadenopathy within levels VII and right II–IV. The core needle biopsy of the right thyroid nodule revealed a follicular non-Hodgkin’s B cell lymphoma with a Ki67 of 60%. According to the Ann Arbor staging system, she was at stage IIIE. She underwent chemotherapy with R-CHOP (rituximab, cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, prednisone) with remarkable clinical improvement and is currently in remission 2 years after the diagnosis. PTL is an extremely rare malignancy that usually arises in a lymphocytic thyroiditis background, presenting as a rapidly enlarging goitre, which can lead to compressive symptoms or airway comprise.

Learning points

  • Primary thyroid lymphoma (PTL) is a rare malignancy, accounting for less than 5% of thyroid neoplasms.

  • PTL should be suspected when a patient presents with a rapidly enlarging goitre, especially in the setting of Hashimoto’s thyroiditis.

  • Fine-needle aspiration has a limited capacity for PTL diagnosis due to similar cytomorphological features of lymphoma with thyroiditis. Therefore, in case of clinical suspicion and if fine needle aspiration fails to diagnose PTL, a tissue biopsy should be performed.

  • Treatment is dependent on both the stage and histology of PTL. Chemotherapy and local radiotherapy remain the mainstay treatment for PTL.

DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1530/EDM-21-0196
Volume 2023: Issue 1
Open access

A case of NASH with genetic predisposition successfully treated with an SGLT2 inhibitor: a possible involvement of mitochondrial dysfunction

Rikako Nakajima, Motohiro Sekiya, Yasuhisa Furuta, Takafumi Miyamoto, Masashi Sato, Kuniaki Fukuda, Keiichiro Hattori, Yasuhito Suehara, Mamiko Sakata-Yanagimoto, Shigeru Chiba, Yuka Okajima, Takashi Matsuzaka, Satoru Takase, Mikio Takanashi, Hiroaki Okazaki, Yusuke Takashima, Mikiko Yuhara, Yuta Mitani, Nako Matsumoto, Yuki Murayama, Mariko Ohyama Osawa, Nami Ohuchi, Daichi Yamazaki, Sayuri Mori, Yoko Sugano, Yoshinori Osaki, Hitoshi Iwasaki, Hiroaki Suzuki, and Hitoshi Shimano

Summary

In this study, we herein describe a 47-year-old Japanese woman who manifested inheritable non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) and severe dyslipidemia. Interestingly, her NASH progression was ameliorated by treatment with a sodium–glucose co-transporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitor. This inheritability prompted us to comprehensively decode her genomic information using whole-exome sequencing. We found the well-established I148M mutation in PNPLA3 as well as mutations in LGALS3 and PEMT for her NASH. Mutations in GCKR may contribute to both NASH and dyslipidemia. We further mined gene mutations potentially responsible for her manifestations that led to the identification of a novel M188fs mutation in MUL1 that may be causally associated with her mitochondrial dysfunction. Our case may provide some clues to better understand this spectrum of disease as well as the rationale for selecting medications.

Learning points

  • While the PNPLA3 I148M mutation is well-established, accumulation of other mutations may accelerate susceptibility to non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH).

  • NASH and dyslipidemia may be intertwined biochemically and genetically through several key genes.

  • SGLT2 inhibitors emerge as promising treatment for NASH albeit with interindividual variation in efficacy. Genetic background may explain the mechanisms behind the variation.

  • A novel dysfunctional mutation in MUL1 may lead to metabolic inflexibilities through impaired mitochondrial dynamics and function.

DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1530/EDM-22-0368
Volume 2022: Issue 1
Open access

Rare distant metastases to pancreas, liver, and lung as initial presentation of mixed tall cell and columnar cell variants of papillary thyroid cancer

Cody Harper, James Michael, Tarek Rahmeh, and Vicki Munro

Summary

The most common sites of distant metastases of papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) are lung and bone. Widespread distant metastases of PTC are rare and associated with poor overall prognosis. Metastases to sites such as liver and pancreas are extremely rare, and literature is sparse on overall survival. In this report, we present a 57-year-old man whose initial presentation of PTC was with pancreatic, liver, and lung metastases, and subsequently developed metastases to bone and brain. He underwent a total thyroidectomy, neck dissection, and tracheal resection. Pathology revealed a predominant columnar cell variant PTC with focal areas of tall cell variant, and genomic sequencing showed both PIK3CA and BRAF gene mutations. Radioactive iodine ablation with I-131 did not show any uptake in metastatic sites and he had progression of the metastases within 6 months. Therefore, therapy with lenvatinib was initiated for radioactive iodine refractory disease. Our patient has tolerated the lenvatinib well, and all his sites of metastases decreased in size. His liver and pancreatic lesions took longer to respond but showed response 6 months after initiation of lenvatinib, and he remains on full dose lenvatinib 18 months into treatment.

Learning points

  • Papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) usually metastasizes to lung and bone but can rarely occur in many other sites.

  • Patients with distant metastases have significantly worse long-term prognosis.

  • Lenvatinib can be an effective treatment of radioactive iodine refractory PTC with rare sites of distant metastases.

  • Lenvatinib can be an effective treatment of PTC with BRAF V600E and PIK3CA mutation.

DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1530/EDM-22-0307
Volume 2022: Issue 1
Open access

Treating ‘osteoporosis’: a near miss in an unusual case of FGF-23-mediated hypophosphataemic osteomalacia

Mike Lin and Kirtan Ganda

Summary

We present the case of a 60-year-old female who developed repeated atraumatic stress fractures. She was initially diagnosed with osteoporosis based on her dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) scan bone mineral density (BMD) T-scores and started on denosumab therapy. Secondary osteoporosis screen revealed abnormal myeloma screen and low serum phosphate levels. It was thought that the patient had multiple myeloma with associated Fanconi-related tubular dysfunction. However, fibroblast growth factor-23 (FGF-23) levels were grossly elevated, making Fanconi syndrome unlikely. The patient was subsequently diagnosed with two separate conditions, namely cardiac amyloid light-chain (AL) amyloidosis and FGF-23-related hypophosphataemia, likely due to tumour-induced osteomalacia. This case highlights the importance of excluding osteomalacia as a cause of low BMD and checking FGF-23 levels in the workup for hypophosphataemia.

Learning Points

  • Tumour-induced osteomalacia is a difficult diagnosis as the tumour is often small and slow growing. Imaging may fail to identify a tumour, and treatment therefore consists of calcitriol and phosphate replacement.

  • Tumour-induced osteomalacia should be suspected in the adult presenting with new-onset hypophosphataemia, elevated FGF-23 levels and isolated renal phosphate wasting.

  • Serum phosphate is not part of the routine chemistry panels. Routinely checking phosphate levels prior to initiating antiresorptive therapy is warranted.

  • DXA cannot distinguish low bone mineral density due to osteoporosis from osteomalacia. Antiresorptive therapy should be avoided in osteomalacia due to the risk of clinical and radiographic deterioration.

DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1530/EDM-22-0300
Volume 2022: Issue 1
Open access

Hypercalcemia in the setting of HTLV-1 infection and a normal PTHrP level

Keerthana Haridas

Summary

Human T-cell lymphotropic virus-1 (HTLV-1) causes adult T-cell leukemia and lymphoma (ATLL) and is a rare but important cause of hypercalcemia. A 53-year-old male with HTLV-1-associated myelopathy presented with acute on chronic bilateral lower extremity weakness and numbness. Initial blood work revealed hypercalcemia with corrected calcium of 16.2 mg/dL (8.5–11.5) with normal levels of phosphorus and alkaline phosphatase. Workup for hypercalcemia revealed parathyroid hormone (PTH) of 14 pg/mL (10–65), 25 hydroxy vitamin D at 19.6 ng/mL (30–100), 1,25 dihydroxy vitamin D at 6.7 pg/mL (19.9–79.3), thyroid-stimulating hormone of 1.265 μIU/mL (0.5–5), undetectable PTH-related protein (PTHrP) and lactate dehydrogenase of 433 U/L (100–220). The urine calcium creatinine ratio was 0.388. Reverse transcriptase PCR was positive for HTLV-1 and negative for HTLV-2. Peripheral blood flow cytometry and lymph node biopsy confirmed ATLL. He received treatment with fluids, calcitonin and denosumab after which serum calcium levels fell (nadir: 7.7 mg/dL) and then normalized. Humoral hypercalcemia in this setting is mediated by receptor activator of nuclear factor-kappa B ligand (RANKL), PTHrP and other cytokines. PTHrP levels depend on levels of the TAX gene product, cell type and lymphocyte-specific factors. Thus, a low level, like in our patient, does not rule out HTLV-1 infection/ATLL as the cause of hypercalcemia. Hypercalcemia is known to be responsive to monoclonal antibodies against RANKL given the compound’s role in mediating hypercalcemia in these cases.

Learning points

  • Human T-cell lymphotropic virus-1 infection and adult T-cell leukemia and lymphoma are associated with high rates of hypercalcemia and hypercalcemic crises.

  • Hypercalcemia in these cases is mediated by osteoclastic bone resorption carried out by several agents including receptor activator of nuclear factor-kappa B ligand, parathyroid hormone-related protein (PTHrP), macrophage inflammatory protein 1 alpha, interleukins, etc. A normal PTHRrP does not rule out humoral hypercalcemia of malignancy in this setting, as indicated by this case.