Selpercatinib for treating recurrent mixed medullary and follicular cell-derived thyroid carcinoma: a case report

Abstract

Background Mixed medullary and follicular cell-derived thyroid carcinoma (MMFCC) is characterized by the coexistence of follicular and C cell–derived tumour cell populations within the same lesion. Due to its rarity, its etiology and clinical course remain unclear, and treatment for advanced or recurrent cases has not been established. Case presentation We report a case of MMFCC treated with selpercatinib. The patient was a 69-year-old male presenting with tumors in the right thyroid lobe and in the upper mediastinum. Fine-needle aspiration (FNA) cytology of the right thyroid lobe tumor revealed a medullary carcinoma; germline RET mutations were not detected. After resection of the right thyroid lobe with central node dissection, rapid intraoperative diagnosis of the mediastinal mass confirmed malignancy, leading to total thyroidectomy with excision of the upper mediastinal tumor. Histologically, the tumor in the right thyroid lobe and the pretracheal lymph node revealed a mixture of medullary and follicular carcinoma components, diagnosed as MMFCC. The mediastinal lymph node exhibited only medullary carcinoma components. At 11 months postoperatively, computed tomography scans showed enlargement of the right supraclavicular and upper mediastinal lymph nodes. FNA cytology of the right supraclavicular lymph node suggested the recurrence of medullary thyroid carcinoma. The gene panel testing (The Oncomine Dx Target Test Multi-CDx system®, Thermo Fisher SCIENTIFIC) of metastatic lymph node revealed RET somatic mutation (M918T). Treatment with selpercatinib was initiated, and both the cervical and mediastinal lymph nodes showed a reduction in size. Conclusions We report a rare case of selpercatinib use for MMFCC. Since RET mutations may occur frequently in MMFCC, selpercatinib could be effective in treating MMFCC.