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Case Report
Thyroid metastasis 21 years after radical nephrectomy: A case report and review of literature
1 MSc, FRCS, Consultant in Urology, Urology Department, Scunthorpe, Northern Lincolinshire, United Kingdom
2 MRCS, Fellow in Urology, Urology Department, Scunthorpe, Northern Lincolinshire, United Kingdom
3 MSc, MD, MRCS, Lecturer in Urology, Urology Department, Scunthorpe, Northern Lincolinshire, United Kingdom
Address correspondence to:
Ramy Elbaz
Urology Department, Scunthorpe, Northern Lincolinshire,
United Kingdom
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Article ID: 100059Z15IK2026
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Khan I, Alhilaly S, Elbaz R. Thyroid metastasis 21 years after radical nephrectomy: A case report and review of literature. J Case Rep Images Urol 2026;11(1):1–5.ABSTRACT
Introduction: The thyroid gland is a highly vascular organ, yet it is an uncommon site for metastasis. Clear cell renal carcinoma is the most frequent site of origin of thyroid metastases and represents 12% to 34% of all secondary thyroid tumors, but cases presenting more than 10 years after nephrectomy are exceedingly rare. This report aims to present a case of 21-year renal cell carcinoma (RCC) with thyroid metastasis in a 60 year old patient who was treated with thyroidectomy and systemic therapy and review the existing literature.
Case Report: A 60-year-old female presented with dysphagia and a neck mass 21 years following radical nephrectomy. She was treated with partial thyroidectomy and pathology came to show metastatic RCC with positive safety margin.
Conclusion: Metastasis to the thyroid should be considered in any patient with a history of malignancy, especially RCC, even decades after initial treatment. Fine needle aspiration is a crucial diagnostic tool, but immunohistochemical staining is often necessary for a definitive diagnosis.
Keywords: Delayed metastasis, Renal cell carcinoma, Thyroid tumor
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Acknowledgments
The authors would like to express their sincere gratitude to The Urology Department, Scunthorpe General Hospital, Northern Lincolnshire and Goole NHS Foundation Trust for facilitating clinical data collection. Also, they would like to thank the patient’s son for his agreeing to participate in the study.
Author ContributionsIsrar Khan - Analysis of data, Drafting the work, Final approval of the version to be published, Agree to be accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved.
Shatha Alhilaly - Acquisition of data, Analysis of data, Drafting the work, Final approval of the version to be published, Agree to be accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved.
Ramy Elbaz - Conception of the work, Design of the work, Analysis of data, Drafting the work, Revising the work critically for important intellectual content, Final approval of the version to be published, Agree to be accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved.
Guaranter of SubmissionThe corresponding author is the guarantor of submission.
Source of SupportNone
Consent StatementWritten informed consent was obtained from the patient for publication of this article.
Data AvailabilityAll relevant data are within the paper and its Supporting Information files.
Conflict of InterestAuthors declare no conflict of interest.
Copyright© 2026 Israr Khan et al. This article is distributed under the terms of Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium provided the original author(s) and original publisher are properly credited. Please see the copyright policy on the journal website for more information.
