CYTOPATHOLOGICAL VARIABLES IN PARATHYROID LESIONS - A STUDY BASED ON 1,600 CASES OF HYPERPARATHYROIDISM

Fine-needle aspirates and tissue sections from 120 surgically treated parathyroid (PT) lesions and histologic archive material from PT lesio ns in 1,500 additional cases of hyperparathyroidism were reviewed to a ssess the importance of various features in distinguishing PT disease from other types of lesions by aspiration cytology. We conclude that t he morphologic variation shown by PT lesions is so many-sided that thi s distinction cannot be based on the presence or absence of a single f eature only Instead the cytologic picture as a whole must be taken int o account and evaluated with full knowledge of the anatomical conditio ns pertaining to the lesion examined. If still in doubt, the diagnosis can be substantiated by supplementary immunocytochemical examinations . (C) 1997 Wiley-Liss, Inc.