Thyroid metastasis of clear cell renal carcinoma: Report of a case.

Renal cell carcinoma can recur many years after diagnosis and nephrectomy metastasizing even in uncommon sites, including thyroid gland. Thyroid metastases are extremely rare, the most frequent site of origin are renal tumors. Metastases in thyroid gland appear as painless nodules or masses, "cold" at scintiscan. We report the case of a 67-year-old male patient affected by clear cell renal carcinoma, diagnosed by fine-needle aspiration cytology procedures, and treated with anticancer medical therapy, who noticed after some months a mass in the neck-thyroid region requiring deeper medical investigations. By this way, thyroid fine-needle aspiration cytology reported a lesion made of malignant epithelial cells compatible with metastases of renal carcinoma (clear cell). Clinical and pathological data, together with immunostaining, supported the diagnosis of metastatic clear cell renal carcinoma. The diagnosis of metastatic disease, although difficult clinically and pathologically, should be suspected in patients with a clinical history of cancer, particularly in case of renal cell carcinoma, but fine-needle aspiration cytology can provide the clue for diagnosis.

The role of ultrasound-guided aspiration biopsy of peripheral pulmonary nodules: our experience.

BACKGROUND: Peripheral lung lesions are difficult to diagnose with conventional methods: ultrasound-guided aspiration biopsy is an interesting prospect having been reported to have good sensitivity and specificity. PATIENTS AND METHODS: From January 1991 to August 2001 we investigated, in 268 patients, the role of ultrasound-guided transthoracic fine needle aspiration for cytological diagnosis of peripheral lung lesions. Nodule sizes ranged from 1 to 10 cm. RESULTS: From 268 patients, we obtained 174 positive specimens for malignancy, of which 155 were positive for primary lung tumors and 19 for metastasis; 76 negative; 9 inadequate; and 9 aspecific. One patient developed pneumothorax after needle aspiration and one patient emophtoe. The nodule size did not affect complication rate and diagnostic outcome. CONCLUSION: This diagnostic procedure appears to be effective, safe and feasible, even in bedridden patients. The cost is low (70Euro), the examination is fast (5-6 minutes) and well-tolerated and, if the specimen is inadequate or non-specific, it is possible to repeat the examination. Ultrasound-guided aspiration biopsy can replace the TC-guided biopsy in patients with peripheral lung nodules.