Histomorphological Patterns of Lesions in Thyroid Specimens

Abstract

Background: The thyroid gland is an important endocrine organ required for the regulation of the basal metabolic rate. It also plays a very important role in growth. Thyroid disorders have great importance because most thyroid diseases are curable. In any area, thyroid gland disorders have a variable incidence and prevalence depending upon several factors. The objective of the study is to find out the relation of age and gender with the frequency of various thyroid lesions. Materials & Methods: It was a descriptive, cross-sectional study carried out on thyroidectomy specimens received at the histopathology laboratory of Holy Family Hospital, Rawalpindi. From January 2015 to June 2018, 242 thyroidectomy specimens were selected based on non-probability consecutive sampling. Reports with no clear-cut definitive diagnosis were excluded. Data were analyzed using SPSS 22. Results: In our study of 242 thyroidectomy specimens, patients' age ranged from 4 to 70 years. 40 to 49 years was the peak age and the mean age was 37.1 years. The female to male ratio was 6.4:1. Of 242 cases, 18(7.4%) were neoplastic thyroid lesions and 224(92.6%) were non-neoplastic ones. Hyperplastic lesions were the most common in our study. The frequency of the inflammatory lesion was 4.1% with Hashimoto thyroiditis (80%) being the most common. The frequency of benign neoplasm was 2.1%. A follicular adenoma was the only benign thyroid neoplasm in our study. The frequency of malignant neoplasm was 5.4%. The most common subtype of thyroid malignancy was papillary thyroid carcinoma (76.9% of the malignant cases). Among a total of 242 cases, 83.1%(n=201) patients had only one presenting complaint (neck swelling). Conclusion: Thyroid disorders are more common in females compared to males. The hyperplastic lesion is the most common type seen. In this study, the most common benign neoplasm is follicular adenoma and the most common malignant neoplasm is papillary carcinoma. Neck swelling is the commonest presenting complaint in our study participants.

Keywords

• Neck swelling, female gender, Non-neoplastic lesions