A Case of Concomitant Diffuse Sclerosing Variant of Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma and Graves’ Disease with Ophthalmopathy Appeared After Coronavirus Disease 2019 Vaccine

It is known that the risk of developing thyroid carcinoma is increased in patients with Graves’ disease (GD). Some reports document how severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) vaccination or infection could represent new external triggers for autoimmune thyroid disease such as GD in patients with individual predisposition. We describe GD and Graves’ ophthalmopathy (GO) in a 27-year-old male patient 15 days after inactivated coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine. Given the ophthalmopathy and uncontrolled hyperthyroidism, a thyroidectomy decision was made. Histopathological examination revealed a diffuse sclerosing variant of papillary thyroid carcinoma (DSV-PTC), and GD was detected in the parenchyma of non-neoplastic thyroid tissue. Various environmental, genetic, and epigenetic factors that initiate the development of GD are known, and cases of GD after COVID-19 vaccination have also been reported. However, the etiology of GD after COVID-19 vaccination has not been fully elucidated in the literature. In addition, the DSV-PTC is a rare subtype of papillary thyroid carcinoma, and its association with GD has been reported in very few cases. Interestingly, we report for the first time a case of DSV-PTC associated with GD histopathologically following inactivated COVID-19 vaccine. The molecular mechanisms of extremely rare co-existence in our case have aroused curiosity and need to be clarified by further studies.

Cite this article as: Akın Ş, Turan M, Güler Şimşek G, Gülçelik MA, Ersöz Gülçelik N. A case of concomitant diffuse sclerosing variant of papillary thyroid carcinoma and Graves’ disease with ophthalmopathy appeared after coronavirus disease 2019 vaccine. Endocrinol Res Pract. 2024;28(1):56-59.