Shu-Mei Chang a, Chih-En Tseng a, b, Chang-Kuo Wei c, Tzu-Cheng Su d
aDepartment of Anatomic Pathology, Buddhist Dalin Tzu Chi General Hospital, Chiayi, Taiwan
bSchool of Medicine, Tzu Chi University, Hualien, Taiwan
cDepartment of General Surgery, Buddhist Dalin Tzu Chi General Hospital, Chiayi, Taiwan
dDepartment of Anatomic Pathology, Changhua Christian Hospital, Changhua, Taiwan
Abstract
Granular cell tumors (GCT) can occur in a wide variety of organs, but are rare in the thyroid. To the best of our knowledge, only four cases of thyroid GCT have been reported in the literature. We report a GCT of the thyroid in a girl aged 12 years who presented with a painless neck mass. Thyroid function tests and the serum calcium level were within normal limits. A thyroid ultrasound demonstrated a round hypoechoic mass in the thyroid isthmus. Histologically, the tumor cells demonstrated abundant granular eosinophilic cytoplasm. The tumor cells were positive for S-100 protein and vimentin, and were negative for thyroglobulin, calcitonin, thyroid transcription factor-1, chromogranin A, synaptophysin, and cytokeratin. The patient had no recurrence and remained well at the 10-month postoperative follow-up visit. We reviewed the literature for reports of thyroid GCTs and compared them with reports of extrathyroid GCTs.
Keywords
Granular cell tumor; Schwann cell; Thyroid
