A red herring, a wild-goose chase, and an unexpected diagnosis of concomitant malignancy and sarcoidosis.

ABSTRACT

A 49-year-old male was evaluated in our hospital for chronic cough, cervical lymphadenopathy, and a testicular mass. As a part of the management, he underwent a cervical lymph node biopsy, which showed metastatic deposits from papillary carcinoma thyroid. Subsequently, he underwent orchidectomy for suspected testicular malignancy, but the biopsy showed discrete granulomatous inflammation consistent with sarcoidosis. This was followed by total thyroidectomy with neck node dissection. Nodal histopathological examination, this time, revealed a single node containing both malignancy and granulomas. Prior to the thyroid surgery, he underwent a mediastinoscopic sampling of the mediastinal nodes, which also showed granulomatous inflammation consistent with sarcoidosis. Sarcoidosis affecting the genitourinary system is a rare entity. The coexistence of sarcoidosis and thyroid malignancy poses a diagnostic challenge. A thorough review of the literature was done, and there are no reports from India on the above association. This is a unique case, which could possibly suggest an association between sarcoidosis and malignancy and highlights the importance of obtaining a tissue diagnosis in such cases.