Cystic cervical lymph nodes metastasis revealing a papillary carcinoma of the thyroid gland: A case report

Cystic cervical lymph nodes are a rare anatomo-clinical form. They are a typical presentation of metastasis of cancers of the waldeyer ring in particular those of the palatine tonsil. Nevertheless, they may reveal a papillary carcinoma of the thyroid even though the thyroid gland is clinically normal. In this case the combination of ultrasound and fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) with intranodal thyroglobulin dosage allows to differentiate lymphadenopathies of thyroid origin from other causes. We report the case of a 40-year-old patient received in December 2015 in our hospital for cystic cervical lymph nodes without clinical thyroid mass. FNAC was for a metastasis of an adenocarcinoma.