Concurrent papillary thyroid cancer with pituitary ACTH-secreting tumor

Concomitant thyroid cancer with pituitary tumor is uncommon. This study reports a case of advanced papillary thyroid carcinoma with pituitary adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH)-secreting tumor. A 58-year-old male patient had thyroid cancer in 1991 and presented with headache caused by pituitary tumor with apoplexy in 1993. Due to hypopituitarism, the patient underwent radioactive iodide (¹³¹I) for detection and treatment of metastatic thyroid cancer after the use of recombinant human thyroid-stimulating hormone (rhTSH) in 2000. During follow-up for thyroid cancer, ²⁰¹thallium scan proved to be an effective tool for detecting metastatic thyroid cancer in the patient without pituitary TSH reserve. Pituitary ACTH-secreting tumor was confirmed in 2001 based on the high serum ACTH level and positive immunohistochemical stain for ACTH. The patient had no Cushingoid features. Moreover, serum ACTH levels were 337 and 232 pg/mL with normal serum cortisol and urine-free cortisol. Although the patient underwent three operations and a total of 370 mCi ¹³¹I therapy for recurrent thyroid cancer, the cancer continued to progress. Finally, the patient died of pneumonia with septic shock 12 years after the diagnosis of thyroid cancer.