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Pathologic Diagnosis of Thyroid Cancer

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Book cover Management of Differentiated Thyroid Cancer

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Abstract

Pathologic examination of the thyroid gland consists of two distinctly different types of procedures. The purpose of the first, biopsy, is for diagnosis of a nodule or mass in effort to determine the nature of the process. Although open biopsy (with or without intraoperative consultation (frozen section)) followed by excision may be used, a more common approach is a fine-needle aspiration (FNA) procedure.

This chapter will discuss all aspects of pathologic diagnosis of differentiated thyroid carcinoma, beginning with fine-needle aspiration biopsies and technique, moving on to frozen section analysis, and ending with descriptions of the predominant forms of differentiated thyroid cancers. This chapter will also discuss in depth the current “Bethesda classification” system of reporting needle biopsies with an emphasis on the cytologic features that distinguish one particular “class” of specimen from the other.

The limitations and utility of frozen section analysis will be addressed. The chapter will feature a pictorial and narrative review of the most common forms of differentiated thyroid neoplasia, including features of papillary thyroid carcinoma and follicular carcinoma, with additional attention to potential pitfalls in diagnosis of thyroid malignancies.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pathology, Duke University, Box 3712, Durham, NC, 27710, USA

    Xiaoyin Sara Jiang

  2. Department of Pathology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, 27514, USA

    Susan Maygarden & Leslie G. Dodd

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  1. Xiaoyin Sara Jiang
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  2. Susan Maygarden
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  3. Leslie G. Dodd
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Correspondence to Leslie G. Dodd .

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  1. General Surgery, Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System, University of Arkansas, Little Rock, Arkansas, USA

    Anne T. Mancino

  2. Division of Surgical Oncology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA

    Lawrence T. Kim

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Jiang, X.S., Maygarden, S., Dodd, L.G. (2017). Pathologic Diagnosis of Thyroid Cancer. In: Mancino, A., Kim, L. (eds) Management of Differentiated Thyroid Cancer. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-54493-9_4

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