Hürthle cell carcinoma: current perspectives

Abstract

Sara Ahmadi,1 Michael Stang,2 Xiaoyin “Sara” Jiang,3 Julie Ann Sosa2,4,5 1Division of Endocrinology, Department of Medicine, 2Section of Endocrine Surgery, Department of Surgery, 3Department of Pathology, Duke University Medical Center, 4Duke Cancer Institute, 5Duke Clinical Research Institute, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA Abstract: Hürthle cell carcinoma (HCC) can present either as a minimally invasive or as a widely invasive tumor. HCC generally has a more aggressive clinical behavior compared with the other differentiated thyroid cancers, and it is associated with a higher rate of distant metastases. Minimally invasive HCC demonstrates much less aggressive behavior; lesions <4 cm can be treated with thyroid lobectomy alone, and without radioactive iodine (RAI). HCC has been observed to be less iodine-avid compared with other differentiated thyroid cancers; however, recent data have demonstrated improved survival with RAI use in patients with HCC >2 cm and those with nodal and distant metastases. Patients with localized iodine-resistant disease who are not candidates for a wait-and-watch approach can be treated with localized therapies. Systemic therapy is reserved for patients with progressive, widely metastatic HCC. Keywords: thyroid cancer, thyroid nodule, follicular cell carcinoma, Hurthle cell lesion, minimally invasive HCC

Keywords

• Hürthle cell carcinoma
• thyroid cancer
• diagnosis
• treatment