Papillary Thyroid Cancer in a Patient With Graves’ Disease and Hyperfunctioning (Hot) Thyroid Nodules: An Unexpected Presentation

TL;DR

A patient with Graves' disease and hyperfunctioning thyroid nodules was found to have papillary thyroid cancer, showing that hot nodules can be malignant.

Contribution

This case report challenges the assumption that hot thyroid nodules are always benign by presenting a rare case of associated malignancy.

Findings

A patient with Graves’ disease had papillary thyroid carcinoma confirmed by FNA biopsy.

The cancer showed regional metastasis to the neck and possible lung metastasis.

The case highlights that hyperfunctioning thyroid nodules can be malignant despite their typical benign association.

Abstract

Hyperfunctioning (hot) nodules are considered benign while cold nodules are associated with a higher risk of thyroid cancer. In this case report, we present a patient diagnosed with Graves’ disease and later found to have papillary thyroid carcinoma (Bethesda VI), confirmed by fine needle aspiration (FNA) biopsy, with regional metastasis to the neck and possible metastasis to the lungs. This paper demonstrates that hot nodules are not always benign, and could be associated with malignancy.

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