Cytological and histological correlation of solitary Thyroid Nodule

Objective: To assess the role of fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAc) in the management of solitary thyroid nodule and to correlate the FNA cytodiagnosis with histopathological results of surgically excised specimens of thyroid. Design: It was a retrospective study. Place and duration of study: This study was carried out at Jinnah Hospital Lahore in the year 2006. Patients and methods: In this period patients files and slides were retrieved from record. Both FNA cytolodiagnosis and histopathological results were correlated. Results: Out of these 64 cases, 5 cases were diagnosed malignant on histology. These were 2 cases of papillary carcinoma, 2 cases of Non Hodgkin`s lymphoma (NHL) and I case of follicular carcinoma. I case of NHL and 2 cases of papillary carcinoma were correctly diagnosed on FNA. 1 case of NHL was misdiagnosed as benign cystic lesion of thyroid on FNA and I case in which cytodiagnosis of hyperplastic colloid nodule/follicular neoplasm was made, tumed to be follicular carcinoma on histology. In the remaining 59 benign cases, a wide range of overlap was seen among benign thyroid lesions. Conclusion: Despite, the overlap of the spectrum of cytological features of different thyroid lesions, FNA cytological examination of solitary thyroid nodules is strongly recommended.