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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 non nodular 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 I 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.

OBJECTIVE: The diagnosis of metastatic mammary carcinoma by morphologic criteria alone can be difficult, depending on the site of metastasis and state of cell differentiation. Numerous histopathologic studies have shown GCDFP-15 (BRST-2) to be a specific marker for breast cancer in surgical specimens. To date, no studies have been done to evaluate its utility in cytologic preparations. STUDY DESIGN: To evaluate the usefulness of GCDFP-15 as a marker in the cytologic diagnosis of breast carcinoma, we studied 2.3 cases of mammary carcinoma and compared them with 20 cases of tumors of nonmammary origin (lung, ovary, liver, colon, stomach and bladder). Bench top fine needle aspirates from unfixed surgical specimens of breast carcinoma, cytocentrifuge samples from body cavity fluids and cerebrospinal fluids with morphologically proven metastatic carcinoma were studied. RESULTS: Expression of BRST-2 was found in 56.5% of primary and recurrent or metastatic breast carcinomas. All the nonmammary carcinomas studied were negative. Staining was found to be strongly dependent on the means of cell fixation. Slides fixed in 10% formalin and Bouin's solution gave optimal results. Except in two cases, which showed focal immunostaining, all specimens fixed in alcohol were negative. CONCLUSION: Our results support the diagnostic value of GCDFP-15 in recognizing tumors of breast origin and suggest that in clinical situations in which metastatic breast carcinoma is suspected, a portion of the cytologic specimen should be fixed with an optimal fixative for BRST-2 detection.

We report the rare case of a rapidly growing inflammatory pseudotumor arising in the mediastinum of a 30-year-old man with myelodysplastic syndrome secondary to treatment for grade 3 astrocytoma. The tumor was discovered soon after discontinuation of 5-azacytidine therapy for myelodysplasia. Fine-needle aspiration was suggestive, and thoracoscopic biopsy was diagnostic. The tumor was excised because of rapid growth and encroachment on the left pulmonary artery and lung. Postoperatively, blastemia was discovered. Acute myeloid leukemia was confirmed by bone marrow biopsy. The patient died of aspiration pneumonia before commencement of leukemia chemotherapy. This case illustrates a rare occurrence of inflammatory pseudotumor in the mediastinum complicating or arising in the setting of multiple primary cancers and chemotherapy. A temporal association with azacytidine therapy is noted. Int J Surg Pathol 3(1):49-58, 1995

The aim of this study was to identify the pattern and significance of expression of p53 and PCNA in cholangiocarcinoma and primary sclerosing cholangitis. Histological sections from 18 patients with cholangiocarcinoma (3 of the cases were associated with primary sclerosing cholangitis), 10 patients with primary sclerosing cholangitis without cholangiocarcinoma, and 7 patients with cirrhosis without cholangiocarcinoma or primary sclerosing cholangitis were stained immunohistochemically for p53 and PCNA. Samples from 17 patients with cholangiocarcinoma (94%) stained positively for p53. Among these 17 cases, nontumorous bile duct epithelium was positive in 7 (including 3 cases with primary sclerosing cholangitis and 2 with carcinoma in situ), and were positive proliferating bile ductules in 4 cases. The single p53-negative cholangiocarcinoma did not show p53 positivity in either the bile duct epithelium or the proliferating bile ductules. Bile ductal and ductular cells in all 10 patients with primary sclerosing cholangitis without cholangiocarcinoma and in the 7 controls were not reactive for p53. All 18 samples from patients with cholangiocarcinoma (100%) were positive for PCNA protein. Bile duct epithelium was positive for PCNA in nine cases (90%) of primary sclerosing cholangitis without cholangiocarcinoma and in six (85%) controls. Our study showed a high rate of p53 expression (94%) in cholangiocarcinoma. The adjacent uninvolved bile duct epithelium was also immunoreactive for p53 in 7 of 17 patients (41%). These findings suggest an early p53 mutation in bile ductal cells in cholangiocarcinogenesis. Expression of p53 may potentially be used to identify or screen, by bile duct brushings, cases of primary sclerosing cholangitis suspected of harboring cholangiocarcinoma. Expression of PCNA was a universal feature in cholangiocarcinoma.

We report a case of synovial chondromatosis of the tibiofibular joint in a 25-year-old woman that was diagnosed by fine-needle aspiration (FNA). The patient presented with pain in the left knee and a mass in the popliteal fossa. Synovial chondromatosis usually presents with joint symptoms and is often associated with intra-articular loose bodies, whereas presentation as a soft tissue mass is unusual and may raise the clinical suspicion of malignant neoplasm. The diagnosis is commonly confirmed by histopathologic examination of biopsy or excision of the specimen. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first case of synovial chondromatosis of a large joint successfully diagnosed by FNA. Two cases of synovial chondromatosis of the temporomandibular joint have been reported in which the diagnosis was suspected on the basis of FNA. In both these cases, the final diagnosis was established by histopathology of the excised specimens.