• Korean Journal of Head & Neck Oncology
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.228-235
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• 1998

Objectives: Papillary microcarcinoma of the thyroid was evaluated as to the effectiveness of diagnostic modalities, lymphatic spread pattern, and therapeutic decision according to tumor size. Material and Methods: We retrospectively analyzed a clinicopathologic findings of 72 papillary microcarcinoma patients who were treated at the over 11 years between 1985 and 1995. The authors divided papillary microcarcinoma of the thyroid into two subgroups according to tumor size: $0{\leqq}5mm$ and $5<0{\leqq}10mm$. An analysis including age and gender distribution, diagnostic tools(thyroid sonogram, thyroid scan, thyroid function test, fine needle aspiration cytology, frozen section), pathological examination of lymphnode, and surgical procedures was carried out in each subgroups. Results: The carcinoma of smaller than 5mm were found in 32 patients, and of 6 -10mm were in 40 patients. The average age of patients was 45years and all of them were female. Cold nodules on thyroid scan were noticed in 53 patientss and normal findings were in 15 patients. Suspicious malignant lesions(fine calcification, solid mass, irregular margin) on thyroid sonography were detected in 23 patients and the sonography was more useful in detecting $0{\leqq}5mm$ small sized lesions than other diagnostic methods. FNAC were performed in 17 patients, and 7 patients were diagnosed as having thyroid papillary cancer. But diagnotic rate in $0{\leqq}5mm$ small sized lesions was very low(one of eights).Frozen section were performed in all patients, among these 15 patients were diagnosed as being benign diseases and false negative rates were higher in $0{\leqq}5mm$ small sized lesions than in $5<0{\leqq}10mm$ sized lesions(p-value<0.006). Only thyroidectomies were performed in 24 patients and thyroidectomy with node dissections in 48 patients. The lymphnode metastatic rates were much higher in multifocal lesions(61.5%) than in single lesion. The incidence of cervical lymphnode metastasis was 19.4% in $0{\leqq}5mm$ sized lesions and 47.9% in $5<0{\leqq}10mm$ sized lesions. Postoperative management were performed with TSH suppression therapy(T4, synthroid) in all patients and RI therapy in 29 patients. Conclusion: On the basis of our study, improved preoperative diagnostic tools for papillary microcarcinoma of the thyroid was helpful in the choice of surgical treatment. As a result of techninological progress(ultrasonography, FNAC), the pencentage of the discovery of papillary microcarcinoma has been increased. The thyroid ultrasonography was useful in detecting small sized lesions($0{\leqq}5mm$), but FNAC may not be beneficial in detecting small sized lesions($0{\leqq}5mm$). In the surgical procedure, thyroid lobectomy alone should be avoided because of the high rate of bilaterality and multifocality.

• Korean Journal of Bronchoesophagology
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.168-173
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• 2001

Background and Objectives： The introduction of highly sensitive imaging techniques has made it possible to detect many non-palpable nodules, or“incidentaloma”in the thyroid. Discovery of these lesions raises concerns about their malignancy, but the optimal strategy for managing these lesions has not been clearly established. This study was designed to evaluate the usefulness of ultrasonographic exam with new diagnostic criteria and presume the value of mass screening for thyroid cancer. Materials and Methods : Mass screening for thyroid cancer were carried out in conjunction with mass screening for breast cancer. The subjects were 630 women aged 30 years or over. Thyroid glands were examined with 10 MHz transducer ultrasonography by one radiologist. Needle aspiration biopsy were performed when suspicious of malignancy under the new diagnostic criteria. Results and Conclusion : The new ultrasonographic criteria to diagnose thyroid cancer provided useful information and ensured more accurate evaluation. 7 cases of thyroid cancer were discovered and successfully managed. It should be further demonstrated that there is sufficient value of mass screening for thyroid cancer to perform it independently despite early cancer detection.

• Korean Journal of Head & Neck Oncology
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.91-101
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• 1994

Nodular thyroid disease is a common clinical problem. The problem in clinical practice is to distinguish malignant or potentially malignant tumor from harmless nodules. The cases of thyroid nodule surgically managed at Department of General Surgery, Soon Chun Hyang Univ. Hospital during the period Jan. 1985 to July. 1992 were reviewed retrospectively. To assess method of distinguishing malignant from benign lesions of the thyroid gland, we reviewed 162 patients with thyroid nodule. There were 61(37.7%) malignant nodules and 101(62.3%) benign nodules. According to the review, distinguishing the benign from the malignant nodule with history, physical examination, clinical manifestation, and duration of illness was not suggested sufficiently. In ultrasonogram of 73 cases, 57.5% of nodules were solid, 20.6% were cystic, 21.9% were mixed solid and cystic. Of these, 28.5% of the operated solid lesions, 12.5% of the mixed lesions, and only 6.7% of the cystic lesions were malignant. Thyroid scanning of 82 cases revealed cold nodules in 60 patients(73.2%), of which 26 cases were malignant(36.6%) 137 patients underwent fine needle aspiration cytology(FNAC), and these results were as follow: sensitiviey was 70.6%, specificity was 93.0%, false-positive rate was 14.3%, and false-negative rate was 15.8%. 41 patients underwent frozen biopsy, and the results as follow: sensitivity was 80.0%, specificity was 89.7%. Neither scintigraphy nor ultrasonogram has sufficient specificity to distinguish benign from malignant nodule. But FNAC and frozen biopsy have sufficient accuracy to differentiate benign from malignant nodule. In the benign nodules, the most common type of operation was total lobectomy (60.4%). Of the malignant nodules, total thyroidectomy with or without modified radical neck dissection was performed in 30 cases(49.2%). We conclude that the single technique used to determine the differential diagnosis of a thyroid nodule are unrealiable. It is therefore essential to combine all avaiable clinical and laboratory information.

• Korean Journal of Radiology
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• v.23 no.10
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• pp.1019-1027
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• 2022

Objective: Thyroidectomy bed lesions frequently show suspicious ultrasound (US) features after thyroid surgery. Fine-needle aspiration (FNA) may not provide definitive pathological information about the lesions. Although core-needle biopsy (CNB) has excellent diagnostic performance in characterizing suspicious thyroid nodules, no published studies have evaluated the performance of CNB specifically for thyroidectomy bed lesions. Therefore, we aimed to evaluate the diagnostic performance and safety of CNB for characterizing thyroidectomy bed lesions. Materials and Methods: A total of 124 thyroidectomy bed lesions in 113 patients (79 female and 34 male; age, 23-85 years) who underwent US-guided CNB between December 2008 and December 2020 were included. We reviewed the US imaging features of the target lesions and the histories of previous biopsies. The pathologic results, diagnostic performance for malignancy, and complications of CNB were analyzed. Results: All samples (100%) obtained by CNB were adequate for pathological analysis. Pathological analysis revealed inconclusive results in two lesions (1.6%). According to the reference standard, 50 lesions were ultimately malignant (40.3%), and 72 were benign (58.1%), excluding the two inconclusive lesions. The performance of CNB for diagnosing malignant thyroidectomy bed lesions in the 122 lesions had a sensitivity of 98.0% (49/50), a specificity of 100% (72/72), positive predictive value of 100% (49/49), and negative predictive value of 98.6% (72/73). Eleven lesions were referred for CNB after prior inconclusive FNA results in thyroidectomy bed lesions, for all of which CNB yielded correct conclusive pathologic diagnoses. According to the pathological analysis of CNB, there were various benign lesions (58.9%, 73/124) besides recurrence, including benign postoperative lesions other than suture granuloma (32.3%, 40/124), suture granuloma (15.3%, 19/124), remnant thyroid tissue (5.6%, 7/124), parathyroid lesions (4%, 5/124), and abscesses (1.6%, 2/124). No major or minor complications were associated with the CNB procedure. Conclusion: US-guided CNB is accurate and safe for characterizing thyroidectomy bed lesions.

• The Korean Journal of Cytopathology
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.111-121
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• 1996

Fine needle aspiration cytology(FNAC) is preferred because of simplicity, safety, and reliability in the evaluation of patients with thyroid nodule or hyperplasia. However, there are a few limitations such as false-negative or false-positive cases and non-diagnostic material. To evaluate the usefulness of FNAC in thyroid lesions, we reviewed 704 FNAC cases of thyroid nodules from 1988 to 1994 at Soonchunhyang University Hospital. The results are as follows. 1. Among 704 FNAC cases of thyroid gland, 571(81.1%) cases were benign, 12(1.7%) were suspicious, 71(10.1%) were malignancy, and 50(7.1%) were material insufficiency. The cytologic diagnoses of the benign lesions included 168 cases of follicular neoplasm, 139 cases of adenomatous goiter, 162 cases of follicular lesion such as follicular neoplasm or adenomatous goiter, 61 cases of Hashimoto's thyroiditis, 13 cases of subacute thyroiditis, and 28 cases of colloidal nodule or benign nodule. The malignant lesions included 68 cases of papillary carcinona, two medullary carcinomas and a case of metastatic colon cancer. 2. The average number of cytologic smear slides was $4.12{\pm}1.81$ in material insufficiency and $5.63{\pm}1.79$ in diagnostic cases. This difference was statistically significant(p<0.00001). 3. Histological assessment of 150 cases revealed 2 false negative and 1 false positive cases. The false negative cases were a case of marked sclerosis in papillary carcinoma and an occult case of papillary carcinoma. The false positive case resulted from pseudo-ground glass nuclei due to marked dry artifact. 4. Comparison between the FNAC and the histologic diagnosis revealed that FNAC had a sensitivity of 93.5%, a specificity of 99.2%, a false negative rate of 6.6%, a false positive rate of 0.8%, and an overall diagnostic accuracy of 98.0%. Therefore, FNAC of thyroid gland is a very reliable diagnostic method with excellent accuracy rate.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.8
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• pp.3307-3312
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• 2015

The papillary patterned lesion of thyroid may be challenging with many diagnostic pitfalls. Tumor stroma plays an important part in the determination of the tumor phenotype. CD34 is thought to be involved in the modulation of cell adhesion and signal transduction as CD34(+) fibrocytes are potent antigen-presenting cells. Smooth muscle actin (SMA) positivity could be diagnostic for fibroblast activation during tumorigenesis. We aimed to examine the expression of CD34 and alphaSMA in the stroma of papillary thyroid hyperplasia, papillary thyroid carcinoma and papillary tumors of uncertain malignant potential in order to elucidate their possible differential distribution and roles. A total number of 54 cases with papillary thyroid lesions were studied by routine H&E staining, CD34 and ASMA immunostaining. ASMA was not expressed in benign papillary hyperplastic lesions while it was expressed in papillary carcinoma, indicating that tumors have modulated stroma. Although the stroma was not well developed in papillary lesions with equivocal features of uncertain potentiality, CD34 was notable in such cases with higher incidence in malignant cases. So ASMA as well as CD34 could predict neoplastic behavior, pointing to the importance of the stromal role. Differences between groups suggest that the presence of CD34 + stromal cells is an early event in carcinogensis and is associated with neoplasia, however ASMA+ cells are more likely to be associated with malignant behavior and metastatic potential adding additional tools to the light microscopic picture helping in diagnosis of problematic cases with H&E.

• Korean Journal of Radiology
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• v.23 no.7
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• pp.763-772
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• 2022

Objective: Preoperative differential diagnosis of follicular-patterned lesions is challenging. This multicenter cohort study investigated the clinicoradiological characteristics relevant to the differential diagnosis of such lesions. Materials and Methods: From June to September 2015, 4787 thyroid nodules (≥ 1.0 cm) with a final diagnosis of benign follicular nodule (BN, n = 4461), follicular adenoma (FA, n = 136), follicular carcinoma (FC, n = 62), or follicular variant of papillary thyroid carcinoma (FVPTC, n = 128) collected from 26 institutions were analyzed. The clinicoradiological characteristics of the lesions were compared among the different histological types using multivariable logistic regression analyses. The relative importance of the characteristics that distinguished histological types was determined using a random forest algorithm. Results: Compared to BN (as the control group), the distinguishing features of follicular-patterned neoplasms (FA, FC, and FVPTC) were patient's age (odds ratio [OR], 0.969 per 1-year increase), lesion diameter (OR, 1.054 per 1-mm increase), presence of solid composition (OR, 2.255), presence of hypoechogenicity (OR, 2.181), and presence of halo (OR, 1.761) (all p < 0.05). Compared to FA (as the control), FC differed with respect to lesion diameter (OR, 1.040 per 1-mm increase) and rim calcifications (OR, 17.054), while FVPTC differed with respect to patient age (OR, 0.966 per 1-year increase), lesion diameter (OR, 0.975 per 1-mm increase), macrocalcifications (OR, 3.647), and non-smooth margins (OR, 2.538) (all p < 0.05). The five important features for the differential diagnosis of follicular-patterned neoplasms (FA, FC, and FVPTC) from BN are maximal lesion diameter, composition, echogenicity, orientation, and patient's age. The most important features distinguishing FC and FVPTC from FA are rim calcifications and macrocalcifications, respectively. Conclusion: Although follicular-patterned lesions have overlapping clinical and radiological features, the distinguishing features identified in our large clinical cohort may provide valuable information for preoperative distinction between them and decision-making regarding their management.

• The Korean Journal of Cytopathology
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.74-80
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• 2007

Parathyroid tumors may be difficult to distinguish from thyroid follicular lesions, especially when a tumor is nonfunctioning. We report here two cases of asymptomatic parathyroid carcinoma preoperatively misdiagnosed as thyroid follicular lesions, and one case of parathyroid adenoma showing hyperparathyroidism, and review the cytologic features favoring the diagnosis of parathyroid neoplasm. The cytologic findings that are characterized by clean background, monomorphic small cells, cohesive three-dimensional papillary clusters, small tight clusters with scattered naked nuclei, and well-defined clear cytoplasm favor a diagnosis for the parathyroid lesions. Cytologic findings such as macrofollicular structure, presence of colloid and macrophages, and presence of perivacuolar cytoplasmic granules on May-Grunwald-Giemsa stain support a diagnosis of a thyroid follicular lesion. The cytomorphology of parathyroid tumors is so variable that the distinction from a thyroid lesion cannot be based on the presence or absence of a single feature only but on the cytologic features as a whole.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.14
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• pp.5565-5570
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• 2014

Objectives: This study aimed to characterize the histopathological pattern of thyroid lesions among Saudi patients and to highlight the age and gender variations of these lesions as base line data. Materials and Methods: We retrospectively analyzed the data from thyroid specimens received at the Department of Pathology, King Fahad Hospital, Madinah, Saudi Arabia from January 2006 to December 2013. Results: The 292 thyroidectomy specimens received during the study period came from 230 (78.8%) females and 62 (21.2%) males giving a female: male ratio of 3.7:1. Age of the patients ranged from 14 to 95 years with a mean age 39.7 years. Two hundred and eleven (72.3%) cases were found to be non-neoplastic and 81 (27.7%) cases were neoplastic. The non-neoplastic group included: colloid goiter, including both diffuse and nodular goiter (170 cases; 58.2%), nodular hyperplasia (28 cases; 9.6%), Hashimoto/chronic lymphocytic thyroiditis (12 cases; 4.1%), and Grave's disease (1 case; 0.3%). In neoplastic lesions, there were 7 benign tumors and 74 malignant tumors. Among the benign tumors, 5 were follicular adenomas and 2 were Hurthle cell adenomas. Papillary carcinoma was the commonest malignant tumor accounting for 87.8% of all thyroid malignancies, followed by lymphoma, follicular carcinoma and medullary carcinoma. The size of papillary carcinoma was more than 2 cm in 40 cases (76.9%). Conclusions: Non-neoplastic thyroid lesions were more common than neoplastic ones. Colloid goiter was the most common lesion. Follicular adenoma was the commonest benign tumor and papillary carcinoma was the commonest malignant lesion. There appears to be a slightly increased trend of papillary carcinoma diagnosis, most being diagnosed at an advanced stage.

• Korean Journal of Head & Neck Oncology
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.174-177
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• 2005

Skin metastasis from papillary thyroid carcinoma is extremely rare. Due to similar histopathologic features, it is difficult to differentiate skin metastatic papillary thyroid carcinoma and some primary skin neoplasms without a clinical history. However, most of metastatic skin lesions showed a strong reactivity to the antithyroglobulin antibodies unlike primary skin neoplasms. Metastatic skin lesions must be completely removed and radiotherapy can be added. Investigators reported that prognosis of skin metastases from thyroid carcinoma is dismal and the average survival after it's diagnosis was only 19 months because distant metastases were often discovered at diagnosis of skin metastasis or during follow-up period. We report a case of skin metastasis from tall cell variant of papillary thyroid carcinoma. In our case, the anti thyroglobulin antibodies measured from cystic fluid from a skin lesion was more than 2000 IU/ml. Skin metastasis was diagnosed at 20 months after primary surgery for thyroid cancer and brain metastasis at 12 months after diagnosis of skin metastasis. Although skin metastasis is an ominous prognostic indicator in patients with thyroid carcinoma, a radical treatment for skin lesions and early diagnosis of distant metastasis could provide a chance to the patients to improve their survival.