Hugen N, Sloot YJE, Netea-Maier RT, et al. - Given that metastatic disease is the main cause of cancer-related mortality in thyroid carcinoma (TC) individuals, researchers systematically assessed the metastatic patterns of different subtypes in TC patients. Participants in the study were 650 patients diagnosed with a primary malignancy in the thyroid who had an autopsy between 1991 and 2010. Metastatic disease occurred in 228 patients and was observed in 38.7%, 17.3%, 75.4%, and 47.8%, respectively, of patients with follicular, papillary, anaplastic, and medullary TC types. Metastatic disease's most common site was the lung for papillary, follicular, and anaplastic carcinoma but not for medullary carcinoma. The metastatic trends between different TC subtypes are significantly different. The trends and frequencies found in this autopsy study that represent the underlying biology of metastatic thyroid cancer and, depending on clinical associations, may influence future monitoring and treatment strategies.