TITLE:
Concurrent pulmonary Mycobacterium avium complex (MAC) infection and active Hürthle cell thyroid carcinoma: is there a connection?
AUTHORS:
Kara M. Meinke Baehr, Whitney S. Goldner
KEYWORDS:
Hürthle Cell Thyroid Cancer;Hypothyroidism; Mycobacterium Avium Complex; Cellular Immunity
JOURNAL NAME:
Health,
Vol.2 No.5,
May
27,
2010
ABSTRACT: We present two cases of pulmonary MAC infection in women with Hürthle cell thyroid carcinoma. Both cases were asymptomatic octogenarian women with active Hürthle cell thyroid carcinoma and prolonged periods of hypothyroidism prior to diagnosis of pulmonary MAC. Mycobacterium avium complex has never been reported in association with any type of thyroid cancer, specifically Hürthle cell carcinoma. A review of the literature and possible associations between the two are discussed in this article.