Columnar-cell carcinoma of the thyroid. A report of two cases of an aggressive variant of thyroid carcinoma

Abstract

Two cases of thyroid-carcinoma characterized by tall columnar epithelium with marked nuclear stratification are presented. There were small foci exhibiting solid spindle-cell growth in both cases and a component demonstrating a microfollicular pattern in one. Both tumors were unencapsulated and invasive. Regional lymph node metastasis occurred in one case and distant metastasis in both, and both patients died of tumor within two years of initial thyroid surgery.