Diagnosis of papillary carcinoma in a thyroglossal duct cyst by fine-needle aspiration biopsy

The incidence of papillary thyroid carcinoma arising in a thyroglossal duct cyst is rare and occurs in about 1 % of thyroglossal duct cysts. Only 17 s uch cases diagnosed with fine-needle aspiration biopsy have been previously reported in the English-language literature, with a diagnostic rate of 53 %. In this article, the cytologic features of the current case are emphasiz ed and those of the previous reported cases are briefly reviewed. Diagnosti c pitfalls of papillary carcinoma arising in thyroglossal duct cysts diagno sed by fine-needle aspiration biopsy are also discussed.