Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Case Reports
. 2014 Jan;31(1):53-6.
doi: 10.4103/0970-9371.130710.

Extramedullary plasmacytoma of thyroid - a mimicker of medullary carcinoma at fine needle aspiration cytology: A case report

Vidya Bhat  1 , Shameem Shariff  1 , Roopa A Narayana Reddy  1
Affiliations
Case Reports

Extramedullary plasmacytoma of thyroid - a mimicker of medullary carcinoma at fine needle aspiration cytology: A case report

Vidya Bhat et al. J Cytol. 2014 Jan.

Abstract

A rare case of extra medullary plasmacytoma (EMP) of thyroid gland in a 60 year old male, occurring against a background of Hashimoto's thyroiditis is reported. The fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) initially done as an outpatient procedure, showed atypical epithelial cells on a background of amyloid. Considering these findings we gave a diagnosis of medullary carcinoma. Histology of the total thyroidectomy specimen showed an extensive infiltration of neoplastic plasma cells against a background of Hashimoto's thyroiditis, with a bizarre Hurthle cell change. Immunohistochemistry on the histology sections confirmed the diagnosis of solitary plasmacytoma of thyroid against a background of Hashimoto's thyroiditis.

Keywords: Extramedullary plasmacytoma; fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC); medullary carcinoma; thyroid.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of Interest: None declared.

Figures

Figure 1a
Figure 1a
Cellular aspirate with acinar cells, papillaroid clusters, and nuclei with grooves (H and E, ×200)
Figure 1b
Figure 1b
Acini composed of pleomorphic cells with hyperchromatic nuclei and abundant pink cytoplasm (H and E, ×400)
Figure 1c
Figure 1c
Cluster of cells with an intranuclear inclusion (H and E, ×400)
Figure 1d
Figure 1d
Positive staining amorphous material in smear background (Congo red stain, ×200)
Figure 2a
Figure 2a
Cut surface of the total thyroidectomy specimen showing a lobulated fleshy appearance
Figure 2b
Figure 2b
Thyroid follicles lined by Hurthle cells with intervening sheets of neoplastic plasma cells (H and E, ×400)
Figure 2c
Figure 2c
Neoplastic cells showing diffuse cytoplasmic positivity for CD138 indicating plasma cell diff erentiati on (IHC, ×400)
Figure 2d
Figure 2d
Germinal center cells (reactive and part of Hashimoto thyroiditis) showing CD19 positivity (IHC, ×200)
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Fletcher CD. Diagnostic Histopathology of Tumors. 3rd ed. China: Churchill Livingstone Elsevier; 2007. Thyroid tumours; p. 1051.
    1. Alexiou C, Kau RJ, Dietzfelbinger H, Kremer M, Spiess JC, Schratzenstaller B, et al. Extramedullary plasmacytoma: Tumor occurrence and therapeutic concepts. Cancer. 1999;85:2305–14. - PubMed
    1. Saad R, Raab S, Liu Y, Pollice P, Silverman JF. Plasmacytoma of the larynx diagnosed by fine- needle aspiration cytology: A case report. Diagn Cytopathol. 2001;24:408–11. - PubMed
    1. Meccawy AA. Plasmacytoma of the thyroid gland: Case report and review of the literature. JKAU Med Sci. 2010;17:83–92.
    1. Bourtsos EP, Bedrossian CW, De Frias DV, Nayar R. Thyroid plasmacytoma mimicking medullary carcinoma: A potential pitfall in aspiration cytology. Diag Cytopathol. 2000;23:354–8. - PubMed

Publication types