Late-onset medullary carcinoma of the thyroid: need for genetic testing and prophylactic thyroidectomy in adult family members.

OBJECTIVE

Sporadic late-onset medullary carcinoma of the thyroid is quite rare. Usually, the patient presents with a thyroid mass or neck node metastasis along with high levels of calcitonin and preoperative fine needle aspiration biopsy suggestive of medullary carcinoma of the thyroid. The role of genetic testing in such individuals, along with testing of other family members, remains somewhat unclear at this stage, especially in patients presenting with familial medullary thyroid carcinoma. Genetic testing with RET proto-oncogene mutational studies is very popular in familial medullary thyroid carcinoma, especially in children, with routine prophylactic thyroidectomy. However, its indications in adults remain unclear at this time.

CASE STUDY

Recently, a 69-year-old woman presented with a thyroid mass and underwent total thyroidectomy and central compartment dissection. She was found to have medullary carcinoma of the thyroid. The patient had four children, three of whom were found to have a RET mutation similar to their mother's, V804M. In view of the RET mutation, the three children were offered prophylactic thyroidectomy at ages 42, 45, and 47. The patient's son was noted to have extensive C-cell hyperplasia in both lobes of the thyroid. The other two individuals had benign pathology with no evidence of C-cell hyperplasia.

CONCLUSIONS

There is no definite consensus of opinion about the need for prophylactic total thyroidectomy in adults with RET mutation. The rarely reported 804 mutation is, however, a predictor of medullary carcinoma of the thyroid. One individual in this group had extensive C-cell hyperplasia, suggesting that he would have developed medullary carcinoma of the thyroid in the future. Prophylactic thyroidectomy should be recommended in patients with RET mutation and a family history of medullary carcinoma of the thyroid; however, its role in adult family members needs to be evaluated with larger registry of prophylactic thyroidectomy. Whether these adults with rare 804-mutation could be observed and followed with serial calcitonin, ultrasound, or calcitonin stimulation tests remains to be studied.