Hurthle cells in thyroid FNA: mimic or a dilemma? Is it possible to accurately differentiate non-neoplastic from neoplastic hurthle cell lesions?

---

Original Article

Author Details : Manas Madan, Manisha Sharma, Sanjay Piplani, Karamjit Singh Gill

Volume : 4, Issue : 1, Year : 2017

Article Page : 27-30

Suggest article by email

Get Permission

---

Abstract

Introduction: Hurthle cells (HC) are an enigma in thyroid lesions, from being a misnomer, their association with a variety of thyroid nodules and their unpredictable clinical behavior. These can be seen in many thyroid lesions ranging from inflammatory conditions, benign neoplasms and malignant lesions. This study was done to assess the spectrum of hurthle cell lesions of thyroid on cytology and try to establish features that can accurately differentiate between non-neoplastic and neoplastic thyroid lesions.
Materials and Methods: The thyroid FNA cases done during Jan 2015- Dec 2015 were collected from the archives of pathology department. Those cases were collected for study where the cytological diagnosis of hurthle cell lesions was made. The diagnosis was divided into follicular neoplasm, hurthle cell neoplasms and thyroid lesions with hurthle cell change. Cytohistological correlation was done wherever possible.
Observations & Results: 101 cases contained hurthle cells were identified and studied. The cytological diagnosis was 27 follicular neoplasms (FN) (26.7%), 04 hurthle cell neoplasms (HCN) (3.9%), 51 adenomatous goiter (50.5%) and 19 Hashimotos thyroiditis (HT) (18.8%). Of 27 FN, 22 were diagnosed as FA and 5 as FC. Of 4 HCN, 2 were diagnosed as HCA, 1 as HCC and 1 as PTC on histopathology.
Conclusion: Hurthle cells can be found in a large number of thyroid lesions both neoplastic and non-neoplastic. Although no particular finding can differentiate between non-neoplastic and neoplastic hurthle cell containing lesions but certain cytological features can help to diagnose the neoplastic nature of these lesions.

Keywords: Hurthle cells, Thyroid, Histopathology, Papillary

How to cite : Madan M, Sharma M, Piplani S, Gill K S, Hurthle cells in thyroid FNA: mimic or a dilemma? Is it possible to accurately differentiate non-neoplastic from neoplastic hurthle cell lesions?. Indian J Pathol Oncol 2017;4(1):27-30

This is an Open Access (OA) journal, and articles are distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 License, which allows others to remix, tweak, and build upon the work non-commercially, as long as appropriate credit is given and the new creations are licensed under the identical terms.