A case of dual malignancy: Presenting the necessity for extensive sampling for pathologic examination

A patient diagnosed with early squamous-cell carcinoma (SCC) with microinvasion was treated by surgical excision followed by histopathologic evaluation. During surgery, all the nodes appeared free of tumor other than a single level-3 node which looked suspicious and enlarged. Surprisingly, the node, instead of showing SCC showed features suggestive of “etastatic papillary thyroid carcinoma.” The characteristics of papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC), their usual histopathologic features and treatment are discussed. The aim of this paper is to present the case of a patient with dual malignancy—oral SCC and PTC in an adult male, which was diagnosed accidently because the protocol of complete surgery and extensive sampling for pathologic examination was followed and thus emphasizes on the necessity for the same.