Hurtle tumour of the thyroid in a Mexican specialties hospital.

OBJECTIVES

To investigate the frequency of the Hurtle cell tumour in the hospital, best diagnostic method, best surgical management, and follow up.

DESIGN

This was approved by the research and ethical committee under the protocol of the General Law on Health and the Helsinki Declaration. The study was retrospective and observational from January 1991 till January 1996. The patients included in the study were those operated on the neck whose clinical files contained histopathological results consistent with this type of tumour. Those whose histopathological reports were not Hurtle cell tumour of the thyroid were excluded. The histological slides of Hurtle cell tumour were reviewed by a consultant pathologist to reconfirm the diagnosis. The patients were then contacted by telephone or telegraph to come to the out patient department for a check up.

SETTING

The clinical archives of the Specialties Hospital, the archives of the Pathology Department of La Raza Medical Centre as well as the library of the Specialties Hospital and the Information Service of the Specialties Hospital.

SUBJECTS OR

PARTICIPANTS

Were, at the end of the selection, nine patients who fulfilled the inclusion and exclusion criteria.

RESULTS

These were three carcinomas, six adenomas, one tumour with cystic degeneration and one microfolicular with extension to the mediastinum.

CONCLUSIONS

The frequency of this tumour is very low and the carcinoma even lower, it is a disease of the adult and predominantly female. It has a short evolution of the symptoms, with tumours of the neck as the main symptom. The fine needle aspiration cytology is the best diagnostic method and the total thyroidectomy is the goldstandard treatment of choice for both benign and malignant lesions. The follow up is very important at least five years for carcinoma and 10 years for adenoma, the Sestamibi Tc99 being very useful to detect early metastasis.