Does percutaneous thyroid laser ablation induce mixed papillary and medullary thyroid carcinoma?

Mixed medullary-papillary carcinomas are very rare and still not listed in the WHO classification (1988). The rarity of the co-existence of medullary and papillary carcinoma suggests that these cases represent mere coincidence. Some studies have shown that radiation exposure has induced neoplasia in the two cell types in rats. But we still have limited information about the carcinogenetic effect of laser ablation on the thyroid gland. This report describes the first case of thyroid carcinoma that demonstrated both medullary carcinoma and papillary components in the thyroid, which might occur due to percutaneous thyroid laser ablation.