Uncommon Site of Metastasis and Prolonged Survival in Patients with Anaplastic Thyroid Carcinoma: A Systematic Review of the Literature

Anaplastic thyroid carcinoma (ATC) is a very rare, highly aggressive malignant thyroid tumor with an overall survival from 3 to 5 months in most of the cases. Even the modern and intensive treatments seem not to be enough to provide a cure, also for the resectable ones, and the role of chemotherapy is still unclear but does not seem to prolong survival. Nevertheless, some patients survive longer and have a better outcome, even in the presence of metastasis, than what the literature reports. We present the case of a 64-year-old female affected by ATC, treated on February 2018 with surgery followed by chemoradiation. One year after surgery, the patient developed a subcutaneous recurrence that was radically resected and is still alive 29 months after the diagnosis. We propose a systematic review of the literature to deepen the knowledge of the prognostic factors of ATC with the aim to recognize and select the patients with a better outcome, even if metastatic, and to describe a very uncommon site of metastatization.

A Comprehensive Expression Profile of tRNA-Derived Fragments in Papillary Thyroid Cancer

Objective: In recent years, the incidence of thyroid cancer has been increasing. Papillary thyroid cancer (PTC) is the most common type of malignant thyroid tumor, accounting for approximately 85% of thyroid cancer cases. Although the genetic background of PTC has been studied extensively, relatively little is known about the role of small non-coding RNA (sncRNA) in this disease. tRNA-derived fragments (tRFs) represent a newly discovered class of sncRNAs that exist in many species and play a role in many biological processes. Methods: In this study, we used RNA sequencing to analyse the expression of tRFs in fresh frozen specimens from PTC tissues and normal tissues adjacent to the tumors. Through this analysis, we identified 49 unique tRFs and transfer RNA halves and then performed quantitative PCR to determine the expression levels of these molecules and to make bioinformatic predictions. Conclusion: In this report, we provide a comprehensive catalog of tRFs in PTC and assess the abnormal expression of these fragments. These preliminary findings can be used as the basis for further research regarding the functional role of tRFs in patients with PTC.

A Case Report: A Third/Fourth Branchial Pouch Anomaly Presented by Solid Thyroid and Lateral Cervical Neck Masses

Branchial pouch-derived anomalies may arise from remnants of the first, second, or third/fourth branchial arches. Branchial pouch-related structures are found within the thyroid gland in the form of solid cell rests, epithelial lined cyst with or without an associated lymphoid component, thymic and/or parathyroid tissue, and less commonly in the form of heterotopic cartilage. We present a rare case of left solid thyroid swelling nearby two cervical nodules in a seven-year-old female with a clinical diagnosis suggestive of malignant thyroid tumor with metastasis to the cervical lymph nodes. Histopathological examination revealed that it was compatible with third/fourth branchial pouch-derived anomaly composed of mature cartilage and thymic and parathyroid tissues for clinical and radiological correlations.