Primary malignant teratoma of the thyroid gland: report and discussion of two cases

Abstract

Background: Teratoma of the thyroid in adults is a rare neoplasm and is usually seen in young females. Most of the thyroid teratoma are malignant. The tumor appears as a dominant mass in the thyroid gland and is often associated with local lymph node involvement. We describe our experience of primary malignant teratoma of the thyroid in two young women who were treated with aggressive chemotherapy and surgical intervention.

Methods: Medical records of two patients treated between 1993 and 1995 were reviewed. Both patients were women (36 years old and 34 years old). The diagnosis of primary malignant teratoma of the thyroid was made on the basis of clinical, radiographic, and microscopic findings. Patients were treated with aggressive combination chemotherapy consisting of alternating regimens similar to those used for high-volume germ-cell tumor patients at the University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center.

Results: One of the patients demonstrated a partial response to chemotherapy and underwent postchemotherapy surgery for removal of residual disease. The other patient had a complete response to chemotherapy. Both patients are alive and disease free for 32- and 26-plus months.

Conclusions: Primary malignant teratoma of the thyroid is sensitive to combination chemotherapy. It appears that the treatment strategy offered-aggressive induction chemotherapy with planned surgery for removal of residual disease, similar to that for patients with testicular tumors-has the potential to provide a durable, complete remission.