Cytodiagnosis of papillary thyroid carcinoma--a study of 37 cases at RIMS Hospital, Imphal

Papillary carcinoma is the most common malignant tumour of thyroid gland which can occur in any age group with most tumours diagnosed in the third and fifth decades predominantly in the females. FNAC is emerging as the first line of investigation for any thyroid enlargement including tumours as a safe, rapid and cost -effective procedure. Many studies have reported diagnostic accuracy of FNAC in detecting neoplasms. The present study aims to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of FNAC in the cytodiagnosis of papillary carcinoma and to highlight the clinco-pathologic correlation. A total of 37 cases were diagnose cytologically as papillary carcinoma, out ofwhich 28 cases were histologically proved. The remaining 9 cases were not available for biopsy. It was observed that careful cytomorphologic assessment with particular attention to cellular arrangement and nuclear characteristics aided in the correct diagnosis.