Korean J Pathol.  1998 Jan;32(1):63-67.

Granular Cell Tumor of the Thyroid

• Kang HJ
• Hong EK
• Park MH
• Lee JD

Abstract

Granular cell tumor is not uncommon and is a well recognized entity which may arise at virtually any site of the body. However, occurrence in the thyroid is extremely rare and has not been described well. Only three cases could be found in the English literatures. We report a case of granular cell tumor of the thyroid in a 30 year-old woman. The tumor was illdefined, infiltrative and was composed of diffuse sheets of polygonal to fusiform cells with abundant eosinophilic granular cytoplasm. The tumor showed evidence of Schwann cell differentiation in immunohistochemical and ultrastructural examinations. Differentiation from more common thyroid tumors having oncocytic granular cytoplasm should be made by immunohistochemistry or electron microscopy.

Keyword

Thyroid; Granular cell tumor

MeSH Terms

Adult
Cell Differentiation
Cytoplasm
Eosinophils
Female
Granular Cell Tumor*
Humans
Immunohistochemistry
Microscopy, Electron
Thyroid Gland*