Papillary thyroid carcinoma presenting with mandibular metastasis: An unusual presentation

Mandibular metastasis from papillary carcinoma of the thyroid is extremely rare. We report here a case of metastatic swelling on the mandible due to papillary carcinoma of the thyroid. The patient presented with jaw swelling and the thyroid lesion was an incidental finding on clinical examination. Computed tomogram scan revealed the presence of a contrast enhanced lesion in the thyroid and lytic expansile lesion in the body of the mandible. The diagnosis of papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) with mandibular metastasis was made after cytological examination of both the lesions. The patient was treated with surgery followed by radioiodine ablation. In conclusion, metastatic tumor to the jaw from a PTC is an extremely rare phenomenon and in the differential diagnosis of a metastatic jaw swelling small primary tumors of the thyroid should be excluded.