Multiple symmetrical lipomatosis in a patient with Hürthle cell carcinoma of the thyroid: a case report.

ABSTRACT

Multiple symmetrical lipomatosis is a rare disorder of fat distribution which generally affects middle age men of Mediterranean origin. Hürthle cell carcinoma is an uncommon variety of follicular carcinoma which invades locally and metastasizes hematogenously to bone, lung, and other distant organs. This report describes a patient who developed multiple symmetrical lipomatosis after undergoing total thyroidectomy for Hürthle cell carcinoma of the thyroid. Type IV hyperlipidemia, hyperuricemia, frequent ethanol usage, and macrocytosis were features previously associated with multiple symmetrical lipomatosis which were present in this patient. Fourteen years after the initial surgery, metastatic Hürthle cell carcinoma was detected in the superior mediastinum. The location of the metastasis and the long disease free interval are unusual features of this case. A possible association between Hürthle cell carcinoma and multiple symmetrical lipomatosis is considered.