Lateral ectopic thyroid is a rare event and even more uncommon is a
primary malignancy in lateral ectopic thyroid. We present a case of
papillary adenocarcinoma in lateral ectopic thyroid in submandibular
space in a 55-year old male. To our knowledge this is the third case
documented in the world and the first one in Europe. Lateral ectopic
thyroid in this region is easily masqueraded as a submandibular gland
swelling and so was our patients’ tumor preliminarily diagnosed as a
submandibular gland tumor. Furthermore, in the preoperative computed
tomography (CT) scan the tissue was misinterpreted being adjacent to the
submandibular gland. The diagnosis was revealed during the surgery and
confirmed by the histology. This report demonstrates the difficulty in
the differential diagnosis of neck masses. Although rare, ectopic tissue
should be remembered as a possible diagnosis of all neck masses and the
relevant preoperative examination should be performed by skilled
professionals.