Papillary Carcinoma of Lingual Thyroid with Cervical Nodal Metastases and Absence of an Orthotopic Thyroid Gland: A Case Report and Review of Literature

Lingual thyroid is a rare developmental abnormality characterized by the failure of the thyroid gland, or remnants, to descend from anywhere along its embryologic path of origin at the foramen caecum to its normal eutopic pretracheal position. The reported prevalence of lingual thyroid is 1 in 100,000, and it is more common in females, with a female to male ratio ranging from 3:1 to 7:1. Carcinoma of the lingual thyroid is even more unusual with less than 1% of lingual thyroids undergoing malignant transformation. Only 40 cases have been reported in the world literature. Herein, we present an uncommon case of papillary carcinoma of lingual thyroid with bilateral cervical nodal metastases in an elderly female with the absence of an orthotopic thyroid gland. Ours is an unusual case report analyzing the diagnostic and therapeutic issues, surgical management strategies and treatment outcomes related to this rare disease entity.