Rev. Méd. RosaRio 87: 89-96, 2021
SYNCHRONOUS MALIGNANT GLOMUS TUMOR WITH CLASSIC PAPILLARY THYROID CARCINOMA:
A CASE REPORT.
Abstract
Introduction: glomus tumors are rare vascular neoplasms derived from these tissues and belong to a family characterized
in their composition by glomus cells, blood vessels and smooth muscle in different proportions. Some cases have been
considered malignant glomus tumors, comprising approximately 2.9% of all the lesions initially diagnosed as glomus
tumors, and their most common location is the lower limbs.
Clinical case: A 51-year-old male patient, with unremarkable past medical history, was referred 17 days after a total
thyroidectomy with lymph node dissection due to a thyroid nodule with Bethesda IV citology. e reported pathological
diagnosis was at the level of the right lobe: classic papillary carcinoma. But an indeterminate area was also observed at the
prevertebral level, interpreted primarily as undifferentiated thyroid carcinoma, with abundant angioinvasion.
Prior to the thyroidectomy, he presented a multislide neck tomography with contrast that reported spindle-shaped solid
expansive process in the right lateral region of the neck and multiple nodular images in both lungs and liver compatible with
secondarism. In addition, a magnetic resonance angiography with contrast had been performed where three juxtacortical
supratentorial intraaxial solid images were observed.
Due to the large number of distant lesions, a biopsy was taken from a liver lesion; simultaneously the thyroid pathology was
re-analyzed, due to the atypical behavior of a classic papillary thyroid carcinoma. After the review, it was concluded that
the lesion in the prevertebral area and the liver corresponded to a malignant glomus tumor. It was not possible to define
whether the thyroid location corresponded to the primary tumor or to another metastasis.
Conclusion: our patient was initially diagnosed as having a classic papillary thyroid carcinoma with an area of
undifferentiation at the prevertebral level, but since its behavior with multiple liver, lung and brain metastases was not
compatible with its usual presentation, it was decided to review the thyroid specimen in addition to obtaining biopsy liver
lesions and studying them with immunohistochemical techniques, thus reaching a diagnosis of a malignant glomus tumor
synchronous with its thyroid pathology. is type of neoplasm is extremely rare, and especially outside the extremities.
Key words: malignant glomus tumor, classic papillary thyroid carcinoma, liver metastases, lung metastases, brain
metastases.
Introducción
Algunos casos han sido considerados tumores
Los cuerpos glómicos son anastomosis arteriove- glómicos malignos en base a diferentes características
nosas especializadas que controlan la termorregulación histológicas como la atipia nuclear, la necrosis y la acti-
a través del flujo sanguíneo y se localizan en la piel, en vidad mitótica. Estos tumores son lesiones infrecuentes,
las regiones subungueales y, con menos frecuencia, en comprendiendo aproximadamente el 2,9% de todas las
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el tejido subcutáneo. Los tumores glómicos son una lesiones diagnosticadas inicialmente como tumor gló-
neoplasia vascular poco común derivada de estos teji- mico, y su localización más habitual son los miembros
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dos y pertenecen a una familia que se caracterizan en su inferiores.
composición por células glómicas, vasos sanguíneos y
A continuación se expone un caso clínico de un
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músculo liso en diferentes proporciones. Clásicamente paciente con un tumor glómico maligno estadío IV de
se localizan bajo las uñas, pero también se han reporta- localización primaria incierta que se presenta de manera
do casos en tracto respiratorio, mediastino y pulmones, sincrónica con un carcinoma papilar clásico de tiroides.
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tracto gastrointestinal y sistema genitourinario. La ma-
yoría de los tumores glómicos del sistema digestivo se Caso clínico
localizan en el estómago, siendo extremadamente rara
Paciente hombre de 51 años, sin antecedentes
de jerarquía, es derivado por el Servicio de Cirugía de
su localización en el tracto hepatobiliar.4
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