Background Thyroiditis encompasses a range of inflammatory conditions affecting the thyroid gland. Lymphocytic thyroiditis (LT) is a common form of thyroiditis, with acute suppuration of the thyroid, while tuberculous thyroiditis is relatively rare. Fine-needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) remains a safe and cost-effective tool for diagnosing thyroid-related diseases, especially when paired with ultrasound (US) and clinical examination. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study including 21 cases. The cases were reported as thyroiditis on US and FNAC, and the findings were correlated with patient clinical history, symptoms during presentation, and serological profiles. Results: The cases of thyroiditis encompassed the more common forms, LT and subacute granulomatous thyroiditis (SAT), as well as relatively rare forms like tuberculous thyroiditis and thyroid abscess. Cases of follicular neoplasms (FN) arising in the context of LT also are included in this study. The case of tuberculous thyroiditis presented as a bulky thyroid gland that appeared heterogeneous on US with extensive necrosis on FNAC. The cases of thyroid abscess and SAT presented with painful neck swellings, with granulomas in the latter cases. US features of LT showed an array of appearances ranging from pseudonodular to an atrophic thyroid gland. All cases of FN showed a lymphocytic background. Conclusions: Thyroiditis is a commonly encountered condition that needs to be sub-categorized accurately into acute, subacute, and chronic types for appropriate clinical management, as they can sometimes show overlapping features. Though rare, acute suppurative and tuberculous thyroiditis are often encountered and warrant immediate care and treatment.
The Asian Thyroid Working Group was founded in 2017 at the 12th Asia Oceania Thyroid Association (AOTA) Congress in Busan, Korea. This group activity aims to characterize Asian thyroid nodule practice and establish strict diagnostic criteria for thyroid carcinomas, a reporting system for thyroid fine needle aspiration cytology without the aid of gene panel tests, and new clinical guidelines appropriate to conservative Asian thyroid nodule practice based on scientific evidence obtained from Asian patient cohorts. Asian thyroid nodule practice is usually designed for patient-centered clinical practice, which is based on the Hippocratic Oath, “First do not harm patients,” and an oriental filial piety “Do not harm one’s own body because it is a precious gift from parents,” which is remote from defensive medical practice in the West where physicians, including pathologists, suffer from severe malpractice climate. Furthermore, Asian practice emphasizes the importance of resource management in navigating the overdiagnosis of low-risk thyroid carcinomas. This article summarizes the Asian Thyroid Working Group activities in the past 7 years, from 2017 to 2023, highlighting the diversity of thyroid nodule practice between Asia and the West and the background reasons why Asian clinicians and pathologists modified Western systems significantly.
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Fine-needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) is a screening test for triaging thyroid nodules, aiding in subsequent clinical management. However, the advantages have been overshadowed by the multiplicity of reporting systems and a wide range of nomenclature used. The Bethesda System for Reporting Thyroid Cytopathology (TBSRTC) was formulated in 2007, to give the world a uniform thyroid cytology reporting system, facilitating easy interpretation by the clinicians. Here, we review the status of thyroid FNAC in India in terms of various reporting systems used including a meta-analysis of the previously published data. An extensive literature search was performed using internet search engines. The reports with detailed classification system used in thyroid cytology were included. The meta-analysis of published data was compared with the implied risk of malignancy by TBSRTC. More than 50 studies were retrieved and evaluated. TBSRTC is currently the most widely used reporting system with different studies showing good efficacy and interobserver concordance. Ancillary techniques have, as of now, limited applicability and acceptability in thyroid cytology in India. Twenty-eight published articles met the criteria for inclusion in the meta-analysis. When compared with TBSRTC recommendations, the meta-analysis showed a higher risk of malignancy for categories I and III. Thyroid FNAC is practiced all over India. TBSRTC has found widespread acceptance, with most institutions using this system for routine thyroid cytology reporting. However, reasons for a high malignancy risk for categories I and III need to be looked into. Various possible contributing factors are discussed in the review.
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Background: The pathogenesis of radiation-induced sarcomas (RISs) is not well known. In RIS, TP53 mutations are frequent, but little is known about Mdm2-p53 interaction, which is a recent therapeutic target of sarcomas. Methods: We studied the immunohistochemical expression of Mdm2 and p53 of 8 RISs. The intervals between radiation therapy and diagnosis of secondary sarcomas ranged from 3 to 17 years. Results: Mdm2 expression was more common in de novo sarcomas than RISs (75% vs 37.5%), and p53 expression was more common in RISs than in de novo cases (75% vs 37.5%). While half of the RISs were Mdm2(–)/p53(+), none of de novo cases showed such combination; while half of de novo sarcomas were Mdm2(+)/p53(–), which are a candidate group of Mdm2 inhibitors, only 1 RIS showed such a combination. Variable immunoprofiles observed in both groups did not correlate with tumor types, except that all of 2 myxofibrosarcomas were Mdm2(+)/p53(+). Conclusions: In conclusion, we speculated that both radiation- induced and de novo sarcomagenesis are not due to a unique genetic mechanism. Mdm2- expression without p53 overexpression in 1 case of RIS decreases the future possibility of applying Mdm2 inhibitors on a subset of these difficult tumors.
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CT guided percutaneous fine-needle aspiration(FNA) of the liver for both cytologic and histologic examination has great value in diagnosing liver malignancy. From March, 1986 to April, 1990, 62 patients with the clinical impression of liver malignancy underwent CT guided percutaneous FNA biopsy. Of these, 43 cases were reviewed for this study, 19 were reported to be liver cell carcinoma, 2 were adenocarcinoma, 11 were reported as anaplastic cell present, and the rest (11 cases) were negative (9) or necrotic (2).
Among the 11 cases of the last group, 9 were diagnosed as liver cell carcinoma and 2 were necrotic histologically.
Retrospective review, in order to clarify the casuse of cytologic diagnostic error, of both cytologic and histologic slides of all cases showed discordance of 23% between these diagnoses and sensitivity is 93.9% and specificity is 90.9%.
The reasons were as follows :1) the lack of awareness of tumor cells of well differentiated liver cell carcinoma (4 cases), 2) missed tumor cells due to too scanty cellularity (1 case), 3) improper smear (2 cases) and no tumor cell in the cytologic smears (3 cases). In such cases, at the initiation of FNA, a correct diagnosis of liver malignancy could only be made by a combination of cytologic and histologic examinations. However after three years' experience we can conclude that cytomorphologic features of liver cell carcinoma are sufficiently distinctive from other liver malignancies to be diagnostic
Alveolar soft part sarcoma(ASPS) is a rare malignant neoplasm with a distinct clinicopathologic entity of which fine needle aspiration(FNA) cytologic findings have been described in only a few reports. Although patients usually present with an isolated soft-tissue mass in the extremity, metastasis can occur in about 13 % of total cases and the most frequent metastatic site is the lung. We have recently experienced a FNA cytologic case of ASPS in the lung.
A 23-year-old female patient was admitted to this hospital due to 2-month-history of cough. She had been good in health before the visit.
Chest computed tomography revealed multiple, variable sized, bilateral pulmonary nodules. Physical examination and other staging work up revealed no other lesions except for pulmonary nodules. A percutaneous transthoracic FNA was performed from the pulmonary nodules. The smear was cellular and most cells were arranged singly. In addition, a few clusters lined by thin-walled vasculature with a pseudoalveolar pattern were present. Some of the tumor cells were large and polygonal to oval with abundant granular or vacuolated cytoplasm. Most cells were naked nuclei showing finely granular chromatin pattern with prominent central nucleoli.
Glycogen-rich clear cell carcinoma of the breast is an unusual variant of carcinoma with a recorded incidence of 1.4-3% of breast carcinomas. The cytologic characteristics have not been well described. We report two cases of glycogen-rich clear cell carcinoma with corresponding fine needle aspiration(FNA) cytologic findings and compare them to infiltrating ductal carcinoma and other clear cell malignancies with a review of literature. One was a 62-year-old woman exhibiting a palpable mass of the right breast. The smears showed atypical tight cell clusters and individually scattered single cells containing foamy or clear abundant cytoplasm with well defined cytoplasmic margins. Mild to moderate nuclear pleomorphism and a prominent nucleolus were present. The other was a 42-year-old woman who was admitted with a right breast mass.
The smears showed moderately cellular, tightly cohesive tumor cells. The cytoplasmic outline was generally well demarcated. The tumor cells contained foamy to clear abundant cytoplasm with large and small vacuoles. The nuclear pleomorphism was marked. Both tumors resected by modified radical mastectomy, were diagnosed as glycogen-rich clear cell carcinoma. Histologically, the clear cell nature of tumor cells were not characteristic enough to predict this type of the tumor. Some cytologic features can be distinguished other clear cell breast cancer from glycogen-rich carcinoma. Recognition of these unusual patterns in a breast FNAC should raise the suspicion of a clear cell carcinoma including glycogen-rich subtype.
Cytological localization of glycogen using PAS and D-PAS staining may permit the correct identification and differential diagnosis of this tumor.
Infectious mononucleosis(IM) is an acute self-limiting lymphoproliferative disorder associated with infection by the Epstein-Barr Virus(EBV), with the characteristic triad of fever, sore throat, and cervical or generalized lymphadenopathy. And also there are atypical lymphocytes in the peripheral blood.
Cytological findings of IM lymphadenitis are characterized by a florid immunoblastic and atypical lymphoid cell proliferation. However, the small number of cases were studied by fineneedle aspiration cytology(FNAC) even though there was a complexity of lymph node pathology. It is important to recognize the reactive pattern of IM that would initiate EBV study and to avoid unnecessary biopsy. We studied findings of lymph node FNAC from 4 patients with EBV infection confirmed by EBV-specific serologic studies. All of the cases were positive for viral capsid antigen(VCA) and one case was positive for anti-EBV nuclear antigen(EBNA).
Cytologically, all of the cases exhibited high cellularity and atypia with great numbers of large immunoblastic lymphocytes.
An extremely unusual case of epidermoid cyst showing diffuse parakeratosis and aggressive clinical behavior is presented.
A destructive bone lesion with surrounding ill-defined soft tissue lesion was found by computed tomography in a 63 year-old man complaining of painful swelling of the right buttock. He had a history of surgical excision twice for epidermoid cysts of soft tissue of the right hip during recent one year. On aspiration cytology, the aspirate was highly cellular and mostly composed of desquamated nucleated squamous cells. Operation finding revealed that the iliac bone was irregularly destroyed and filled with gray-white cheesy material and necrotic bone debris. Adjacent gluteus muscle showed scattered gray-white lesions. The curettage specimen showed bone necrosis and desquamated squamous cells filling the marrow spaces. The lesion within muscle revealed epidermoid cyst with diffuse parakeratosis.
Primary non-Hodgkin's lymphoma of the lung is rare among extranodal lymphomas. The most common form is low grade B-cell type originated from the mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) of the lung and primary peripheral T cell lymphoma of the lung is extremely rare. We recently experienced a case of fine needle aspiration cytology of primary peripheral T cell lymphoma of the lung in a 39-year-old male patient. The cytologic smears revealed some sheets of reactive epithelial cells, epithelioid histiocytes, and numerous polymorphous population of lymphoid cells composed of small and intermediate sized lymphoid cells and mature lymphocytes. Lymphoid cells were slightly larger than normal mature lymphocytes and showed significant irregularity of nuclear membrane. The internal nuclear structure was marked by chromatin clumping, clear parachromatin areas, and inconspicuous nucleoli.
Histopathologically, atypical small lymphocytes infiltrated in the interstitium and alveolar sac. By the immunohistochemical study and molecular biologic study of gene rearrangement, the T cell clonality of atypical lymphoid cells was confirmed.
Primary malignant lymphoma of the thyroid gland is uncommon malignancies. Its fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) findings are rarely described in the literature. This article highlights the FNAC diagnosis of primary malignant lymphoma of the thyroid gland. A 70-year-old female presented with a rapidly enlarging thyroid mass of five months' duration. FNAC smears showed low cellularity consisting of predominantly atypical enlarged lymphoid cells admixed with a few small lymphocytes, plasma cells, and oncocytic cells. Some disrupted lymphoid cells were also present. The tumor cells infiltrated into the thyroid follicular epithelium forming lymphoepithelial lesion. The cytologic appearance showed a diffuse mixture of cell types with only a few small, mature lymphocytes and many enlarged lymphoid cells. The enlarged lymphoid cells were atypical and pleomorphic with nuclear clefting and irregularities.
Grossly, the left lobe of the thyroid was nearly replaced by a diffuse firm to soft solid mass with smooth tan fish-flesh homogeneous cut surface. Histological diagnosis was diffuse large B-cell lymphoma with areas of marginal zone B-cell lymphoma of MALT type.
Solid papillary carcinoma of the breast is a distinctive form of intraductal papillary carcinoma frequently associated with both mucinous carcinoma and infiltrating ductal carcinoma, not otherwise specific. To our knowledge, this case is the first description of the cytologic aspects of solid papillary carcinoma of the breast in the Korean literature. We experienced a case of solid papillary carcinoma of the right breast diagnosed by fine needle aspiration cytology(FNAC) in a 70-year-old female. FNAC from the right breast showed high cellularity consisting of mostly tight clusters of tumor cells and a few scattered tumor cells. The nuclei were monotonously round to oval in shape with inconspicuous nucleoli. The cytoplasm was abundant and finely granular. Scant amount of mucinous material was present on the background. The diagnosis was confirmed histologically and immunohistochemically.
Malignant myoepithelioma (myoepithelial carcinoma), is a very rare malignant epithelial neoplasm accounting for less than 1% of all salivary gland tumors and has an intermediate malignant potential. We report a case of malignant myoepithelioma arising in the left parotid gland in a 54-year-old man, which was difficult to differentiate from pleomorphic adenoma and other malignant salivary gland neoplasms. Fine needle aspiration cytology of the parotid gland showed cellular smear, composed of overlapped sheets and clusters or individually scattered tumor cells without any acinic or ductal structures. The tumor cells were rather uniform, with distinct cell borders and moderate amount of cytoplasm. The eccentrically located nuclei were oval to round and pleomorphic and showed prominent nucleoli. A few clear cells were noted in the cellular aggregates.
Metachromatic matrix was seen between individual tumor cells in a lacelike fashion, resembling pleomorphic adenoma.
According to the immunohistochemical staining, we recognized that the component cells are myoepithelial in nature, showing reactivity for the S-100 protein, vimentin, and actin.
In the investigation of superficial lymphadenopathy of unknown cause, fine needle aspiration (FNA) cytology plays an invaluable role. It enables the differentiation of benign lymphadenopathy from lymphoid and non-lymphoid malignancies, obviating the need for open biopsy, and allowing the triage of patients. Cytopathologists should be familiar with the typical FNA patterns of benign lymphadenopathy, and recognize and differentiate among categories. In a minority of cases of benign lymphadenopathy, FNA can render a specific diagnosis. Benign lymphadenopathies are generally categorized into reactive lymphoid hyperplasia (RLH), inflammatory or infectious processes, and benign lymphoproliferative disorders. RLH characteristically presents with a heterogeneous and polymorphous smear composed of normal cellular constituents of lymph nodes, in contrast with the homogeneous or monomorphic smear of most lymphomas. The caveat is that various malignant disorders may also present with polymorphous populations. It is also important to recognize thatbenign lymphoid smears may sometimes contain atypical cells that raise the suspicion of malignancy. Clinical information should always be the integral part of the diagnostic criteria in FNA of lymphadenopathy. If there is any doubt about the benign nature of the smear, it is prudent to suggest biopsy and ancillary studies.
Phyllodes tumor(PT) is a rare distinctive fibroepithelial breast tumor that occasionally shows unpredictable clinical behavior. Wide excision should be the primary treatment of PT and enucleation, the standard procedure for fibroadenoma(FA), is proscribed due to high frequency of local recurrence. Therefore an accurate preoperative diagnosis of PT is essential in order to ensure proper surgical treatment. However, the differentiation between benign PT and FA is often difficult on the basis of cytologic findings.
In an attempt to better understand the cytologic features of benign PT and possibly to differentiate PT from FA on the findings of fine needle aspiration(FNA)smears, we reviewed cytologic smears from 22 histologically diagnosed cases each of benign PT and FA, respectively. The cytologic features assessed were cellularity and atypia of both epithelial and stromal components, and shape of epithelial cell clusters.
Atypia of stromal cells was more frequent in PT, while blunt branching pattern of epithelial cells was more frequent in FA.
The specific cytologic diagnosis of PT is not possible in many cases, but the abundance of stromal cells with moderate nuclear atypia in the correct clinical setting such as older age and larger size(>4cm) allows the diagnosis.
Fine needle aspiration has been widely used to diagnose of breast lesions whether they are malignant or not. When applied by experienced and well-trained practitioners, its accuracy can approach that of histopathology, In order to make optimal use of FNAB in breast lesions, this article has reviewed the criteria for sample adequacy, the diagnostic terminology and the cytomorphologic approach to making a diagnosis and avoiding diagnostic pitfalls.
Fine needle aspiration (FNA) cytology of breast disease is recognized to be highly accurate and cost effective, especially when this is used in combination with clinical examination and imaging as part of a triple approach. A probabilistic/categorical approach is used for the classification of breast FNA specimens. Criteria are defined from the perspective of the likelihood of making a definitive diagnosis of cancer on excision. This approach is an accurate way of classifying breast FNA specimens, and this can be reliably applied regardless of the level of experience of the pathologist for interpreting the case.
When a definitive diagnosis of malignancy is made, the next step is to determining the specific histologic types of the malignancy according to their cytological features. In order to make an accurate diagnosis of carcinoma and for correct typing a tumor, an adequate, correctly sampled aspirate without any other artifacts is required.
The authors present the fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) cytologic findings of a case of extranodal marginal zone B cell lymphoma (MZBCL), which featured abundant plasma cells and eosinophilic histiocytes arising in both parotid glands. A 49-year-old female presented with palpable masses in both parotid glands. She had been suffering from systemic lupus erythematosus and rheumatoid arthritis. The lesions were evaluated by FNAC and smears showed a small number of clusters of oncocytic cells with abundant eosinophilic granular cytoplasm and small nuclei, intermixed with small to medium-sized lymphoid cells containing round to lobulated nuclei, which suggested Warthin's tumor. Some of lymphoid cells had a plasmacytoid appearance, and some scattered large cells contained a large amount of eosinophilic cytoplasm. Bilateral superficial parotidectomy was performed and a histopathologic study indicated MZBCL with abundant plasma cells, intermixed with eosinophilic histiocytes. The presence of oncocytic cells and a mixture of lymphoid and plasma cells indicates Warthin's tumor, but the cytologic features of a relatively monotonous small to medium-sized lymphoid infiltrate suggest the possibility of MZBCL in the clinical setting of an FNAC study performed on a patient suffering from a connective tissue disease.
Fine needle aspiration cytology is considered as a useful diagnostic procedure in management of patients with breast lesions. This study was undertaken to evaluate the scoring system of Masood in the interpretation of breast aspirates, to establish the most useful cytologic criteria for the diagnosis of breast lesions, and to subclassify the benign breast diseases. To assess the feasibility of a cytologic grading system, 57 cases of benign breast disease, 61 cases of malignant breast disease were studied, respectively. The aspirates were evaluated for the cellular arrangement, the degree of cellular pleomorphism and anisonucleosis, and the presence of myoepithelial cells and nuceoli. Values ranging from 1 to 4 were assigned to each criterion and the sum of the individual values was made for each case. The presence of stroma, apocrine metaplasia, foamy histiocytes and inflammatory cells, background of the smear, and cellularity were also evaluated. Cut-off value of the scoring system of Masood between benign and malignant lesion was 15. Among the cytologic criteria, cellular arrangement, presence of myoepithelial cells, nucleoli, and stroma, status of chromatin pattern, and background of smear were useful criteria in the differentiation between benign and malignant lesions. Application of the scoring system of Masood does not always make the accurate diagnosis and the subclassification of benign breast disease.
Angiomyolipoma(AML) of the liver is a rare benign tumor; about 60 cases, almost solitary, have been reported. We present here a extremely rare case of multiple AML in the liver diagnosed by fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC).
Two large masses were found in a 51 year-old woman complaining of abdominal discomfort by computed tomography and several smaller masses are scattered in the liver. FNAC was performed, showing bundles of spindle shaped smooth muscle cells intermingled with mature fat cells. FNAC may be a valuable method for definitive diagnosis of hepatic AML.
The diagnosis was further confirmed by histologic examination with immunohistochemical studies.
We described the findings of fine needle aspiration cytology of the lung from a patient with Wegener's granulomatosis.
Early diagnosis and prompt treatment of the patients with Wegener's granulomatosis is essential for a better prognosis. However, the variety of clinical presentations and nonspecific radiologic infiltrates of Wegener's granulomatosis frequently make the diagnosis difficult.
Although an open lung biopsy is required for a firm diagnosis, fine needle aspiration cytology & biopsy preparation can also provide an adequate tissue sample, when the findings of fine needle aspiration are considered with clinical manifestations and ANCA value in the serum. The cytologic smears showed scattered necrotic tissue fragments entrapping many neutrophils and occasional epithelioid cells. Multinucleated giant cells were infrequently observed. Ziehl-Neelsen stain for acid fast bacilli was negative. All the cytologic features recapitulated the histopathologic findings of purulent and necrotizing granulomatous inflammation seen in Wegener's granulomatosis.
Papillary renal cell carcinoma(RCC) is an uncommon subtype of RCC that has distinctive gross, histologic, and cytogenetic features. The cytologic features of FNA are abundant papillary clusters and relatively few single cells.
The cells are usually small and contain uniform nuclei; numerous macrophages with foamy cytoplasm are often found in the background. We describe a case of papillary renal cell carcinoma evaluated by fine needle aspiration cytology(FNAC) in a 42 year-old man. The smear showed a few papillary clusters and numerous macrophages with foamy cytoplasm in the background. With adequate cellularity, papillary RCC can be distinguished reliably from non-papillary RCC by FNAC.
Adenomyoepithelioma is an uncommon benign tumor of the breast. We present the fine needle aspiration cytologic features of adenomyoepithelioma in a 23 year-old Korean women, initially diagnosed as fibroadenoma. Aspiration cytologic findings of the left breast mass revealed high cellularity, small to medium sized, less cohesive epithelial clusters, rich naked cells and amorphous materials on background. The epithelial cells were round and uniform with no cytologic atypia or mitosis. Myoepithelial cells were conspicuous with peripheral rimming along the epithelial clusters. Small amount of fibrotic stromal tissues were observed. Distinguishing features from typical fibroadenoma are less tight epithelial clusters, dyscohesive epithelial cell aggregates, more abundant naked cells and scant stromal tissue fragments.
Although the characteristic cytologic features of melanoma have been well described, the diagnosis of metastatic melanoma by fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) may be difficult in the case of amelanotic melanoma and in the absence of awareness of clinical history. Furthermore, when the breast is the site of initial presentation, it could simulate a primary breast carcinoma leading to misdiagnosis.
The recognition of metastatic malignant melanoma in FNAC material is essential to avoid an unnecessary mastectomy and to ensure appropriate chemotherapy. We experienced a case of metastatic melanoma of breast which presented as solitary breast mass in a 56-year-old woman. She had a history of surgical excision of right foot for melanoma one year ago.
The cytologic smears were composed of noncohesive epithelioid cells with round or eccentric nuclei, bi-or multi-nucleation, prominent nucleoli, fine chromatin, and intranuclear inclusions. The cytoplasm of tumor cells had scanty melanin pigment but were diffusely positive for S-100 protein.
Fine needle aspiration cytology(FNAC) has been used effectively as the initial modality in evaluating various thyroid lesions. We correlated cytologic and histopathologic features to investigate the diagnostic pitfalls of FNAC of the thyroid.
A total of 1,593 FNACs of the thyroid were diagnosed at the Department of Pathology, Hanyang University Hospital, from January 1993 to December 1997. There were 963 cytologically benign cases(60.5%), 97 suspicious cases(6.1%), and 75 malignant cases(4.71%). The remaining 458 cases(28.8%) were unsatisfactory. Subsequent surgical resection was done in 192 cases. Seventy-two cases(37.5%) were cytologi cally diagnosed as benign, 45 cases(23.4%) suspicious, 56 cases(29.2%) malignant, and 19 cases(9.9%) unsatisfactory. Histopathologically, 101 cases were benign(11 thyroidites, 52 adenomatous hyperplasias, 34 follicular adenomas, and four Hurthle cell adenomas), and 91 cases malignant(72 papillary carcinomas, 16 follicular carcinomas, one medullary carcinoma, one anaplastic carcinoma, and one granular cell tumor). After excluding 19 unsatisfactory cases, 63 were misdiagnosed. They included 17 benign(three thyroidites and 14 adenomatous hyperplasias), 27 suspi cious(16 follicular adenomas, four Hurthle cell adenomas, and seven follicular carcinomas), and 19 malignant(16 papillary carcinoma, one medullary carcinoma, one anaplastic carcinoma, and one granular cell tumor) lesions.
The accuracy rates in the benign, suspicious, and malignant categories were 54.9%, 49.8%, & 92.8%, respectively. The cytological pitfalls were as follows: (1) bloody background, (2) crowded follicular cell clusters indistinguishable between follicular neoplasia and adenomatous hyperplasia, (3) papillary structure, irregular nuclear membrane and pleomorphism mimicking those of papillary carcinoma, (4) indistinct eosinophilia in follicular epithelial cells, (5) unusual cellular components not commonly seen in FNACs of the thyroid.