Recurrent medullary thyroid carcinoma treated with percutaneous ultrasound-guided radiofrequency ablation: A case report

BACKGROUND: Treatment for neck lymph node metastases after adequate initial surgery in medullary thyroid carcinoma (MTC) has been controversial. Ultrasound (US)-guided radiofrequency ablation (RFA) has been widely used in recurrent well-differentiated thyroid carcinoma. Here, we report for the first time the use of RFA in a patient with recurrent MTC. CASE SUMMARY: We report the case of a 56-year-old woman with cervical lymph node metastases of MTC. Four years previously, she had undergone a total thyroidectomy and neck lymph node dissection. A neck US revealed many enlarged nodes during the follow-up period. Moreover, the serum calcitonin jumped to 198.17 pg/mL, which strongly indicated the recurrence of MTC. Subsequently, two metastatic lymph nodes were confirmed by US-guided fine-needle aspiration-cytology and fine-needle aspiration-calcitonin, and then the patient was treated with RFA. Four months later, the neck US and a contrast-enhanced US showed obvious shrinkage in the ablation zones, and the serum calcitonin dropped to 11.80 pg/mL. CONCLUSION: This case suggests that RFA may be an effective and safe treatment for local recurrent MTC.