Cytologic findings in the differential diagnosis of C-cell hyperplasia and medullary carcinoma by fine needle aspiration. A case report.

BACKGROUND: The cytologic features of C-cell hyperplasia of the thyroid have not been previously addressed in the literature. We describe the first case, to our knowledge, of C-cell hyperplasia that was suggested by fine needle aspiration. CASE: Cellular material was obtained from a nonnodular region of the thyroid gland in a 67-year-old male with chronic diarrhea, unexplained elevated serum calcitonin, no clinically detectable thyroid mass and no known medical or family history of an endocrine disorder. Aspiration yielded a scant bimodal cell population composed of benign follicular cells and a second population of larger cells, later confirmed as C-cells via immunohistochemistry. Although the diagnosis of medullary carcinoma was entertained, the absence of a discrete mass clinically and the presence of two interspersed, distinct cell populations suggested the alternate diagnosis, C-cell hyperplasia, which was confirmed by subsequent thyroidectomy. CONCLUSION: C-cell hyperplasia can mimic medullary carcinoma biochemically, and this case suggests the possible role of fine needle aspiration of the thyroid to distinguish between the two. In patients with elevated serum calcitonin and absence of a discrete thyroid nodule, the finding of clusters of calcitonin-positive cells intermixed with normal follicular cells by fine needle aspiration may provide a means of making a presurgical diagnosis of C-cell hyperplasia.

The hairy polyp: a benign teratoma of the colon.

A 76-year-old female presented with bright red rectal bleeding. Endoscopic evaluation revealed a polypoid lesion sprouting hair in the sigmoid colon. Histologically the resected polyp was composed of elements of all three germ layers, fulfilling the criteria for a teratoma. The differential diagnosis of this benign polyp and its significance are discussed.

Wegener granulomatosis presenting as renal mass.

Wegener granulomatosis involves both the respiratory and genitourinary systems. Kidney lesions are invariably focal. Wegener granulomatosis only rarely affects other genitourinary organs and, until now, has not been described as a mass in the kidney. In the case presented, the diagnosis was unknown before surgery, though clinically suspected. The management, which included nephrectomy and chemotherapy with cyclophosphamide (Cytoxan) and prednisone, caused a marked improvement, and the patient was discharged in stable condition.

Villous polyposis of the ileum: report of a case.

Villous adenomas occur only rarely in the small intestine and are often associated with malignant changes. Multiple villous adenomas of the small intestine are usually seen only in patients with familial polyposis coli. This is a report of a patient with multiple villous adenomas of the ileum associated with a carcinoma of the cecum which originated from a villous adenoma near the ileocecal valve. There was no evidence of other colonic polyps and no history of familial polyposis coli. It appears that polyposis of the small intestine is a rare clinical entity which cannot often be diagnosed due to difficulty in visualizing this area.

Disseminated cryptococcosis presenting as thyroiditis. Fine needle aspiration and autopsy findings.

A 47-year-old diabetic ethanol and intravenous drug abuser presented with symptoms and signs indistinguishable from subacute thyroiditis. After cultures of cerebrospinal fluid grew Cryptococcus neoformans, the organism was recognized in a review of a fine needle aspirate of the thyroid. Postmortem examination documented extensive thyroid inflammation and fibrosis secondary to involvement by widely disseminated C. neoformans. Fungal infection is an uncommon cause of thyroiditis, and the need for a clinical awareness of fungal thyroiditis is emphasized, as is the need to utilize special stains to detect opportunistic infections when examining cytologic preparations from immunocompromised patients.

True histiocytic lymphoma of the thymus. Report of a case and a study of the distribution of histiocytic cells in the fetal and adult thymus.

The thymus was the site of a true histiocytic lymphoma. Immunohistochemical demonstration of lysozyme and alpha-1-antitrypsin in the tumor cells indicated the histiocytic nature of the tumor. Five fetal and five adult thymus glands were studied for the presence and distribution of true histiocytic cells. Histiocytes were demonstrated predominantly in the connective tissue septa and constituted approximately 2% of cells in these thymuses. Histiocytes are therefore a normal constituent of the thymus, which may become the primary site of true histiocytic lymphoma.