Cytophotometric measurements of hürthle cell tumors of the thyroid gland.Correlation with pathologic features and clinical behavior

Abstract

The DNA content and nuclear size and shape of 21 Hürthle cell neoplasms of the thyroid were analyzed with a CAS 100RS Image Analyzer (Cell Analysis Systems, Lombard, IL) in order to distinguish between benign and malignant lesions. Neoplasms were considered malignant if documented metastatic disease or pathologic evidence of vascular or capsular invasion was present. Of the ten neoplasms classified as malignant, eight were aneuploid and two were diploid. Nine of the 11 benign neoplasms were diploid, the remaining two neoplasms were aneuploid. Two of the four malignant neoplasms which recurred or metastasized were aneuploid, the other two were diploid. A statistically significant association was found between aneuploidy and tumor invasion (P = 0.007). However, measurement of the percentage of cycling tumor cells as well as nuclear size and shape were not useful in separating benign from malignant neoplasms.