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Mitrache M, Terzea D, Sirbu A, Fica S. Aggressive Primary Thyroid Mucoepidermoid Carcinoma with Extensive Pulmonary Involvement. Biomedicines 2024; 12:285. [PMID: 38397887 PMCID: PMC10886837 DOI: 10.3390/biomedicines12020285] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/02/2024] [Revised: 01/17/2024] [Accepted: 01/19/2024] [Indexed: 02/25/2024] Open
Abstract
Mucoepidermoid carcinomas (MECs) represent the most common malignant neoplasms of the salivary glands, but they have also been described in other unusual sites. Primary MECs originating in the thyroid gland are exceedingly rare, accounting for less than 0.5% of thyroid tumors. Owing to their low to medium grade, they are usually associated with an indolent evolution and a good long-term prognosis, generally being managed surgically based on the extent of the disease. However, this does not always apply, as primary thyroid MECs may present as metastatic or locally advanced diseases. While several treatment options have been explored in such cases, no consensus currently exists on their optimal treatment plan, and they should be managed in a multidisciplinary fashion. We report the case of a 67-year-old patient with primary MEC of the thyroid, which behaved aggressively, with extensive pulmonary metastasis, ultimately leading to the rapid clinical deterioration and death of the patient.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marius Mitrache
- Endocrinology Department, Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 020021 Bucharest, Romania; (M.M.); (D.T.); (S.F.)
- Endocrinology Department, Elias Emergency University Hospital, 011461 Bucharest, Romania
| | - Dana Terzea
- Endocrinology Department, Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 020021 Bucharest, Romania; (M.M.); (D.T.); (S.F.)
- Oncoteam Diagnostic, 010719 Bucharest, Romania
| | - Anca Sirbu
- Endocrinology Department, Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 020021 Bucharest, Romania; (M.M.); (D.T.); (S.F.)
- Endocrinology Department, Elias Emergency University Hospital, 011461 Bucharest, Romania
| | - Simona Fica
- Endocrinology Department, Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 020021 Bucharest, Romania; (M.M.); (D.T.); (S.F.)
- Endocrinology Department, Elias Emergency University Hospital, 011461 Bucharest, Romania
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Lam H, Saoud C, Faquin WC, Mandavilli S, Cibas ES, Ali SZ. Cytopathology of primary sclerosing mucoepidermoid carcinoma with eosinophilia of the thyroid: a multi-institutional case series and review of literature. J Am Soc Cytopathol 2024; 13:33-41. [PMID: 37973501 DOI: 10.1016/j.jasc.2023.10.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/21/2023] [Revised: 10/11/2023] [Accepted: 10/16/2023] [Indexed: 11/19/2023]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Sclerosing Mucoepidermoid Carcinoma with Eosinophilia (SMECE) of the thyroid is an extremely rare tumor that exhibits unique histologic characteristics and is nearly always associated with lymphocytic thyroiditis (LT). However, the cytomorphologic and clinicopathologic characteristics of SMECE have only been described in rare case reports. MATERIALS AND METHODS Authors' institution laboratory information systems were searched for records of SMECE between 2012 and 2023. Literature review was performed using keywords "Sclerosing mucoepidermoid carcinoma with eosinophilia", "thyroid", and "cytopathology" to search through institution electronic library databases for relevant articles. RESULTS A total of 19 cases were identified, 3 unpublished in the authors' archives and 16 in the literature which had fine needle aspiration (FNA) material or cytologic features available for review, and were comprised of 3 males and 16 females. The common cytomorphologic characteristics of SMECE included fragments or loose clusters of intermediate-type epidermoid cells in a background of prominent LT and eosinophils. Overt keratinization, mucinous cells, and extracellular mucin were not commonly encountered, resulting in diagnostic challenges, especially if eosinophils associated with epithelial cell clusters were rare. The cases were reported as "Nondiagnostic" (1 case), "Atypia of Undetermined Significance" (4 cases), "Suspicious for Malignancy" (3 case), or "Malignant" (11 cases). CONCLUSIONS The clinical course of SMECE of the thyroid varied and distinct cytomorphologic characteristics in a subset of patients who experienced aggressive disease raises the possibility of different prognostic grades. Cases with keratinized squamous cells and necrosis mimic anaplastic (undifferentiated) thyroid carcinoma, but the clinical history and radiologic findings can be helpful to exclude this diagnosis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hansen Lam
- Department of Pathology, The Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, MD
| | - Carla Saoud
- Department of Pathology, The Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, MD
| | - William C Faquin
- Department of Pathology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA
| | | | - Edmund S Cibas
- Department of Pathology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA; Department of Pathology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA
| | - Syed Z Ali
- Department of Pathology, The Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, MD.
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Kakudo K, Jung CK, Liu Z, Hirokawa M, Bychkov A, Vuong HG, Keelawat S, Srinivasan R, Hang JF, Lai CR. The Asian Thyroid Working Group, from 2017 to 2023. J Pathol Transl Med 2023; 57:289-304. [PMID: 37981725 PMCID: PMC10660359 DOI: 10.4132/jptm.2023.10.04] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/19/2023] [Accepted: 10/04/2023] [Indexed: 11/21/2023] Open
Abstract
The Asian Thyroid Working Group was founded in 2017 at the 12th Asia Oceania Thyroid Association (AOTA) Congress in Busan, Korea. This group activity aims to characterize Asian thyroid nodule practice and establish strict diagnostic criteria for thyroid carcinomas, a reporting system for thyroid fine needle aspiration cytology without the aid of gene panel tests, and new clinical guidelines appropriate to conservative Asian thyroid nodule practice based on scientific evidence obtained from Asian patient cohorts. Asian thyroid nodule practice is usually designed for patient-centered clinical practice, which is based on the Hippocratic Oath, "First do not harm patients," and an oriental filial piety "Do not harm one's own body because it is a precious gift from parents," which is remote from defensive medical practice in the West where physicians, including pathologists, suffer from severe malpractice climate. Furthermore, Asian practice emphasizes the importance of resource management in navigating the overdiagnosis of low-risk thyroid carcinomas. This article summarizes the Asian Thyroid Working Group activities in the past 7 years, from 2017 to 2023, highlighting the diversity of thyroid nodule practice between Asia and the West and the background reasons why Asian clinicians and pathologists modified Western systems significantly.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kennichi Kakudo
- Department of Pathology, Cancer Genome Center and Thyroid Disease Center, Izumi City General Hospital, Izumi, Osaka, Japan
| | - Chan Kwon Jung
- Department of Hospital Pathology, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Korea
| | - Zhiyan Liu
- Department of Pathology, Shanghai Sixth People’s Hospital, Affiliated to Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China
| | | | - Andrey Bychkov
- Department of Pathology, Kameda Medical Center, Kamogawa, Chiba, Japan
| | - Huy Gia Vuong
- Department of Pathology, University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, Iowa City, IA, USA
| | - Somboon Keelawat
- Special Task Force for Activating Research (STAR), Department of Pathology, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand
| | - Radhika Srinivasan
- Department of Cytology and Gynecological Pathology, Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh, India
| | - Jen-Fan Hang
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Chiung-Ru Lai
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan
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LiVolsi VA. Sclerosing Mucoepidermoid Carcinoma with Eosinophilia of the Thyroid and Mucoepidermoid Carcinoma of the Thyroid: What's in a Name? Endocr Pathol 2023; 34:98-99. [PMID: 36757639 DOI: 10.1007/s12022-023-09754-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 01/27/2023] [Indexed: 02/10/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Virginia A LiVolsi
- Department of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine, University of Pennsylvania - Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
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Jung CK, Agarwal S, Hang JF, Lim DJ, Bychkov A, Mete O. Update on C-Cell Neuroendocrine Neoplasm: Prognostic and Predictive Histopathologic and Molecular Features of Medullary Thyroid Carcinoma. Endocr Pathol 2023; 34:1-22. [PMID: 36890425 DOI: 10.1007/s12022-023-09753-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 01/24/2023] [Indexed: 03/10/2023]
Abstract
Medullary thyroid carcinoma (MTC) is a C-cell-derived epithelial neuroendocrine neoplasm. With the exception of rare examples, most are well-differentiated epithelial neuroendocrine neoplasms (also known as neuroendocrine tumors in the taxonomy of the International Agency for Research on Cancer [IARC] of the World Health Organization [WHO]). This review provides an overview and recent evidence-based data on the molecular genetics, disease risk stratification based on clinicopathologic variables including molecular profiling and histopathologic variables, and targeted molecular therapies in patients with advanced MTC. While MTC is not the only neuroendocrine neoplasm in the thyroid gland, other neuroendocrine neoplasms in the thyroid include intrathyroidal thymic neuroendocrine neoplasms, intrathyroidal parathyroid neoplasms, and primary thyroid paragangliomas as well as metastatic neuroendocrine neoplasms. Therefore, the first responsibility of a pathologist is to distinguish MTC from other mimics using appropriate biomarkers. The second responsibility includes meticulous assessment of the status of angioinvasion (defined as tumor cells invading through a vessel wall and forming tumor-fibrin complexes, or intravascular tumor cells admixed with fibrin/thrombus), tumor necrosis, proliferative rate (mitotic count and Ki67 labeling index), and tumor grade (low- or high-grade) along with the tumor stage and the resection margins. Given the morphologic and proliferative heterogeneity in these neoplasms, an exhaustive sampling is strongly recommended. Routine molecular testing for pathogenic germline RET variants is typically performed in all patients with a diagnosis of MTC; however, multifocal C-cell hyperplasia in association with at least a single focus of MTC and/or multifocal C-cell neoplasia are morphological harbingers of germline RET alterations. It is of interest to assess the status of pathogenic molecular alterations involving genes other than RET like the MET variants in MTC families with no pathogenic germline RET variants. Furthermore, the status of somatic RET alterations should be determined in all advanced/progressive or metastatic diseases, especially when selective RET inhibitor therapy (e.g., selpercatinib or pralsetinib) is considered. While the role of routine SSTR2/5 immunohistochemistry remains to be further clarified, evidence suggests that patients with somatostatin receptor (SSTR)-avid metastatic disease may also benefit from the option of 177Lu-DOTATATE peptide radionuclide receptor therapy. Finally, the authors of this review make a call to support the nomenclature change of MTC to C-cell neuroendocrine neoplasm to align this entity with the IARC/WHO taxonomy since MTCs represent epithelial neuroendocrine neoplasms of endoderm-derived C-cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chan Kwon Jung
- Department of Hospital Pathology, Seoul St. Mary's Hospital, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, 222 Banpo-daero, Seocho-gu, Seoul, 06591, Republic of Korea.
- Cancer Research Institute, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, 06591, Republic of Korea.
| | - Shipra Agarwal
- Department of Pathology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, 110029, India
| | - Jen-Fan Hang
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan
- School of Medicine and Institute of Clinical Medicine, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Dong-Jun Lim
- Cancer Research Institute, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, 06591, Republic of Korea
- Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Department of Internal Medicine, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, 06591, Republic of Korea
| | - Andrey Bychkov
- Department of Pathology, Kameda Medical Center, Kamogawa, Chiba, 296-8602, Japan
| | - Ozgur Mete
- Department of Pathology, University Health Network, Toronto, ON, M5G 2C4, Canada
- Endocrine Oncology Site, Princess Margaret Cancer, Toronto, ON, M5G 2C4, Canada
- Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, M5G 2C4, Canada
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