Abstract
Background : Anaplastic thyroid-gland carcinoma is rare and aggressively invasive. We report a case of anaplastic carcinoma with osteoclast-like giant cells diagnosed by fine-needle aspiration cytology.
Case : A man in his 80s noticing a rapidly growing mass on the right side of his neck was found in imaging to have a solid tumor with calcification in the right thyroid-gland lobe. Fine-needle aspiration cytology showed polygonal to spindle-shaped cells and multinucleated giant cells either isolated or grouped against a hemorrhagic, necrotic background. Based on a diagnosis of anaplastic carcinoma, we resected the growth, which was solid and partially calcified. Histopathologically, it showed features of a giant-cell bone tumor consisting mostly of mononucleated cells and osteoclast-like giant cells. Papillary carcinoma was also detected near calcification, yielding a definitive diagnosis of anaplastic carcinoma with osteoclast-like giant cells. Five months postoperatively, metastasis had spread to both lungs and the man eventually died of it.
Conclusion : We concluded that histological tumor types can be determined based on fine-needle aspiration cytology and clinical information.
