One of the rare diseases for differential diagnosis of subacute thyroiditis is metastases within the thyroid gland. We report here on a 72-year-old-woman with painful goiter and signs of hyperthyroidism. Her serum concentration of thyroid hormone was in the upper limit of normal, and the uptake of radioactive iodine by the thyroid was completely depressed. Although subacute thyroiditis was suspected, an additional work up that included a chest CT scan was done for the combined cough and chronic weakness. The result was lung cancer with metastatic involvement of the thyroid and multiple lymph nodes. She refused further anti-cancer therapy and died 5 months after the diagnosis. For the differential diagnosis of such a rare case, careful examination is important even in patients with the typical symptoms and laboratory findings of subacute thyroiditis.
We report a case of a 73-year-old female patient who was diagnosed with ectopic ACTH syndrome caused by small cell lung cancer. We initially presumed that the patient was in a state of mineralocorticoid excess, because she had hypertension and hypokalemic alkalosis. This was however excluded because her plasma renin activity was not suppressed and her plasma aldosterone/plasma renin activity ratio was below 25. Moreover, her 24 hour urine free cortisol level was elevated and her serum cortisol levels after a low dose dexamethasone suppression test, were not suppressed. Furthermore, her basal plasma ACTH and serum cortisol levels increased and her serum cortisol level after a high dose dexamethasone suppression test was not suppressed. We performed studies to identify the source of ectopic ACTH syndrome and found a 3 cm-sized mass in the patient's right lower lobe of her lung, which was eventually diagnosed as small cell lung cancer following a bronchoscopic biopsy. In conclusion, Cushing's syndrome, and in particular ectopic ACTH syndrome, must be considered in the differential diagnosis of mineralocorticoid-induced hypertension. The excessive cortisol saturates the 11beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 2 (11beta-HSD2) activity, which in turn, inactivates the conversion of cortisol to cortisone in the renal tubules. Moreover, excessive cortisol causes binding to the mineralocorticoid receptors, causing mineralocorticoid hypertension, characterized by severe hypercortisolism.
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Emergencia hipertensiva como debut de síndrome de Cushing paraneoplásico E. Rubio González, M. de Valdenebro Recio, M.I. Galán Fernández Hipertensión y Riesgo Vascular.2024; 41(2): 135. CrossRef
Management of small cell lung cancer complicated with paraneoplastic Cushing’s syndrome: a systematic literature review Yanlong Li, Caiyu Li, Xiangjun Qi, Ling Yu, Lizhu Lin Frontiers in Endocrinology.2023;[Epub] CrossRef
Ectopic Cushing Syndrome in Adenocarcinoma of the Lung: Case Report and Literature Review Rana Al-Zakhari, Safa Aljammali, Basma Ataallah, Svetoslav Bardarov, Philip Otterbeck Cureus.2021;[Epub] CrossRef
A Case of Ectopic Adrenocorticotropic Hormone Syndrome in Small Cell Lung Cancer Chaiho Jeong, Jinhee Lee, Seongyul Ryu, Hwa Young Lee, Ah Young Shin, Ju Sang Kim, Joong Hyun Ahn, Hye Seon Kang Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases.2015; 78(4): 436. CrossRef
This is a case report of a 61 years old man with suprasellar and pituitary metastasis from bronchogenic adenocarcinoma who developed polyuria and polydipsia. The clinical diagnosis has been made by bronchoscopy with washing cytology, biopsy of cervical lymph node, and brain MRI scan. Brain MRI scan showed metastatic tumor in the suprasellar area and pituitary gland with invasion of pituitary stalk. Light microscopic findings revealed adenocarcinoma in bronchoscopic washing cytology, and metastatic adenocarcinoma in the cervical lymph node. The combined pituitary stimulation test showed decreased reserve capacity of anterior pituitary hormones. And the water deprivation test also showed complete central diabetes inspidus. We report a case of suprasellar and pituitary metastasis from bronchogenic adenocarcinoma with a review of the literature.