Deshpande AH, Kodate PM

Five cases of hurthle cell carcinoma (HCC) and 10 cases of hurthle cell adenoma (HCA) of the thyroid were examined by fine needle aspiration. By applying several cytologic criteria, a diagnosis of hurthle cell carcinoma or adenoma was made. All cases of HCA and four cases of HCC were confirmed on histology. In one case of HCC the diagnosis was confirmed on aspiration of metastatic sites. In the absence of ancillary techniques like morphometry, immunocytochemistry and flow cytometry, a diagnosis of hurthle cell carcinoma may be offered with reasonable accuracy on aspiration cytology after ruling out all other causes of hurthle cell proliferation. All our cases were diagnosed using morphologic criteria alone. A report of these cases and a discussion on the differential diagnoses of hurthle cell proliferation is presented.

Key words: Hurthle cell carcinoma, cytology