Study note

Follicular carcinoma and Hürthle cell tumours

THE CONTEXT

Follicular carcinoma requires architectural assessment for diagnosis and differs from papillary thyroid carcinoma in its pattern of spread.

•

Follicular carcinoma can normally be distinguished from follicular adenoma only by architecture on histology.

•

A follicular lesion on fine-needle aspiration cannot be diagnosed as malignant without clinical features such as metastases.

•

Multiple foci of follicular carcinoma are seldom seen.

•

Lymph node involvement is much less common than in papillary thyroid carcinoma, while blood-borne metastases are more common.

•

The eventual mortality rate remains low but is twice that of papillary thyroid carcinoma.

•

Hürthle cell tumours are a rare variant of follicular neoplasm in which oxyphil cells predominate histologically.

•

Oxyphil cells are also called Hürthle or Askanazy cells.

•

Hürthle cell cancers are associated with a poor prognosis.

NEETx

Learn. Practise. Remember.