Osteoclastic variant of anaplastic thyroid carcinoma: An insight into a rarest of rare entity

Diagn Cytopathol. 2022 Aug;50(8):E210-E213. doi: 10.1002/dc.24953. Epub 2022 Mar 16.

Abstract

Anaplastic thyroid carcinoma is a rare and a very aggressive thyroid malignancy with a dismal prognosis. It has a short history and presents with a rapidly increasing neck mass associated with compressive symptoms like pain, hoarseness of voice, dysphagia and shortness of breath. Osteoclastic variant is an extremely rare variant, which is, characterize by presence of a large number of multinucleated giant cells, which resemble osteoclasts. Here we report two cases of this unusual variant in a 68 years old and 49 years old male with a short history of thyroid swelling.

Keywords: anaplastic; carcinoma; osteoclastic; thyroid; variant.

MeSH terms

  • Giant Cells / pathology
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Osteoclasts / pathology
  • Thyroid Carcinoma, Anaplastic* / pathology
  • Thyroid Neoplasms* / pathology