Papillary carcinoma of thyroid with an unusual coexistence of metastatic deposits and tuberculosis in the cervical lymph nodes

Papillary carcinoma of the thyroid with clinically significant cervical lymphadenopathy is a common presentation (particularly in young patients), and it may be the first manifestation of disease. Occasionally, besides metastatic deposits, the cervical lymph nodes may harbor other diseases, and determining the etiology in such a case becomes critical for the institution of proper treatment and complete cure of the patient. Detection of tuberculous lymphadenitis and metastatic deposits by radiological and/or fine needle aspiration cytology methods may not be always easy and may be missed due to inherent defects of the techniques hence, histopathological examination still remains the final resort. We report a case of papillary carcinoma of the thyroid and its rare association with both metastatic deposits and tuberculosis of the contiguous cervical lymph node groups. We suggest that tuberculosis must always be borne in mind besides metastases while evaluating the enlarged neck nodes in papillary carcinoma of the thyroid.