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Updated: Aug 6, 2026

An Orthotopic Mouse Model of Anaplastic Thyroid Carcinoma
Published on: April 17, 2013
Medullary thyroid carcinoma. Rare cytologic findings
P V Kumar1, H Hodjati, A Monabati
1Department of Pathology, Shiraz Medical School, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Iran.
Objective:
To describe some rare cytologic findings in medullary thyroid carcinoma.
Study Design:
Review of the fine needle aspiration smears from 15 cases of medullary thyroid carcinoma that were confirmed on histologic sections. The ages ranged between 31 and 67 years; 10 were female and 5 male. Thirteen were sporadic forms, and two were familial forms.
Results:
Eight cases were classified as pleomorphic cell type and seven as monomorphic cell type. The smears revealed round, oval, triangular, polygonal and spindle-shaped cells, intracytoplasmic red granules, occasional intranuclear inclusions, amyloid, binucleated and multinucleated cells, and thick, granular chromatin.
Conclusion:
The rare cytologic findings in this study were grape cells, cytoplasmic nippling, elongated cytoplasmic processes, carrot-shaped nuclei, nuclear buddings, mast cell-like cells and a Burkitt's lymphoma-like appearance. These findings were rarely reported before.

