[Significance of cytological studies for the diagnosis of thyroid malignomas]

The authors employed the needle aspiration biopsy for the morphological diagnosis of thyroid malignancies of 2000 goitres. Only 3 false negative diagnoses out of 120 proved malignant tumours were done. The cytological signs of malignant thyroid cells were in the majority of cases so clear that the malignancy could be recognized without difficulty. None of the changes typical for malignant cells were found in benign euthyroid or hyperthyroid goitres. It was possible not only to recognize a malignant thyroid tumour, but also to judge the grade of its differentiation and to identify certain histological tumour types (Hürthle cell adenoma, papillary carcinoma) according to some special cytological signs. The demonstration of the nucleolar apparatus by means of a simple cytochemical technic proved to be a very useful indicator for the appreciation of the function, growth activity and malignant transformation of thyroid cells.